Phasing
by Olanthea
Summary: Very loosely based on the Twilight saga. Original characters   no Bella/Edward/Jacob. A familiar Forks/La Push setting. Teenagers Angie Pochoda and Eli Perdit try to deal with the phases of their lives, but overcoming one often leads to another.
1. Same Old Story

Phase One – Chapter One: Same Old Story

Angie Pochoda had known for a while that life would be changing again, but she had hoped that it would at least wait until the end of the school year. There was only a week left of regular classes and then it was two weeks of final exams. The timing couldn't be any worse. She tried to pretend that she didn't see her mom's car in front of the school, and just went straight to getting her bike from the rack. It wasn't much of a plan, but at least getting on her bike would give her some time to stop panicking. Where would she go? If her mom was there that meant that she couldn't go home – correction, she couldn't go back to _Doug's_ home. Doug was her mom's latest true love, and like all the other ones, it was doomed from the start. Amanda Pochoda fell in and out of love every year, sometimes even three times a year. Amanda had met Doug in September and by November Amanda was making all of the arrangements to move from Everett to Port Angeles. After the Christmas break, Angie was enrolled in a new school. Hopefully Amanda was just planning to hotel it for a while. After all, she still had a job to go to. But Angie couldn't help but worry that the packed bags meant a new city, a new school, even worse would be a new guy that Amanda would spring on her. Now she couldn't even finish this half of the year. Why did her mom do these things? Couldn't she at least fake it for a while, just until the end of exams?

Amanda began honking the car horn. Angie tried to not notice.

"Hey," someone called from behind her, "I think that woman wants you."

Angie couldn't help it now. She turned around.

"Thanks," she told the overly helpful guy. She didn't know his name and obviously he didn't know hers either. It wouldn't matter now, would it? She'd probably never see him again once she got in that car. Who knows, in another life maybe he would have been her prom date.

Angie submitted and walked her bike to the car. She didn't open the door.

Amanda leaned over and rolled down the passenger window. "Hey pumpkin."

"What are you doing here?" Angie asked.

"Put your bike on the back, I'll give you a ride home."

"_Home_? I'd rather bike myself, thanks."

"Angie, can you please get in the car? I think we have some things we need to talk about." Amanda always tried to sugar-coat things. It was more annoying when she did. Angie knew exactly what was going on. Why couldn't her mom just own up to it?

"You and Doug split?" Angie predicted.

"It's complicated," Amanda sighed.

"It always is," Angie said under her breath. "Fine."

Angie put her bike on the rack on the back of the car. Angie figured that it was more accustomed to being on that rack than it was on the road. That's probably why she was always so determined to get on it and ride as far as she could go every chance she could get. It was kind of like a dog, if she didn't take it out for walks, it would feel unloved. Locking it in place now was almost heartbreaking.

When she got into the car, Angie noticed how filled the backseat was. At least two suitcases covered by pillows and blankets. Yep, they were definitely going somewhere. Angie braced herself for the explanation.

"Now, Angie, pumpkin, I think that Doug and I need our space," Amanda said as she pulled the car away from the school.

"So where are we going now?" Angie asked.

"Not very far. I know you've still got a few more weeks of school."

"And finals. I can't write another school's finals."

"I know. It's okay. You can still finish up here."

"But?"

"Hey, can you give me a bit of a break here? I'm trying, kiddo. Believe it or not, I'm actually trying," Amanda pleaded.

Angie sighed. She took a few breaths to calm herself. Her mom was sensitive, there was no point getting mad at her, it would only make things worse. "So where are we going?"

"I tried to find something for us that we could afford. There aren't a lot of rentals at the moment."

"And?"

"I found a place in Forks."

"Forks? Is there even a town in Forks?"

"Angie, it's bigger than you think it is. They have a high school there. Probably even a soccer team." It wasn't convincing. It sounded as if Amanda hadn't even looked into it at all. No wonder the place would be affordable, there would be nothing there; no one would want to live there.

"I can't switch schools in the last three weeks!"

"No, pumpkin, you don't have to. Forks is only an hour away. I still have work here too. We can commute together," Amanda suggested optimistically.

"An hour commute every day?"

"Hey, it's no so bad. Remember when we lived in Surrey? I had to commute to Vancouver every day. This will be nothing."

Angie still wasn't convinced. On the plus side, though, Angie didn't have to switch schools yet. And knowing her mom, the whole Forks thing would be very temporary. Amanda would fall in love again and they'd be back in Port Angeles, Everett, or maybe Seattle or, who knows, maybe Angie would find herself in Sydney Australia one day.

"_Just three more years,"_ Angie reminded herself. After that time Angie would be done high school and could go off to school on her own. She didn't know where yet, but it didn't matter, the point was that she'd have at least four years of being in one place. She couldn't wait.

"So what about the rest of the stuff?" Angie asked.

Amanda became quiet. That wasn't a good sign. Thankfully Angie had learned early on not to get too attached to stuff.

"I don't know. We'll have to see."

"Does Doug even know we're leaving?"

Amanda was quiet again. That meant no. This was a quick escape. There was probably a note on the fridge or something like that. Doug would find it when he got home from work. Angie wondered if he'd be surprised. He and her mom had been fighting a lot. Angie wasn't sure how much longer her mom would hold out for. Considering what was going on now, Angie figured that Amanda kept everything quiet until she was certain that she had a place to go. They had escaped to a hotel before, back when Angie was really young, but circumstances were different then. That was with Mark. Angie was surprised that she could still remember his name; she was surprised that she could remember most of the names. Mark turned out to be a beater. From that day on, Amanda was determined to have a backup plan. Doug wasn't that bad, he just got cocky. Guys seemed to do that around Amanda. She was young, and guys liked that, but she also had a young daughter which most guys didn't like so much. Doug was young too, twenty eight. He had good intentions, he was trying to own his own business and get himself established. He wasn't ready to do the family thing. He liked Amanda, but he wasn't ready to commit. Not everyone that Amanda fell in love with was equally in love with her. This was another one of those cases.

Angie reached in the backseat and pulled a pillow up to the front. She wrapped her arms tightly around it and rested her chin on top of it.

"It's going to be okay. We're survivors, you and me," Amanda said trying to reassure her daughter.

Angie tried to believe her.

They didn't speak much during the drive. Amanda just kept her eyes on the road while Angie watched the passing trees. Nature must have felt the mood in the small red Toyota because it began to rain. It wasn't anything new, it usually rained around here, but this rainfall seemed like it was made just for Angie. She was glad it was raining. The sky was crying so she didn't have to.

Amanda didn't say much about the new rental place. When they pulled up into the gravel driveway, Angie knew why. The house wasn't even in a suburb. You could barely see the house through the trees. Angie's wishful thinking cropped up again. Usually acreage lots in the middle of nowhere had large houses. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. And once again Angie's hopefulness was in vain. The house looked like a cube with a roof. The weathered wooden siding was a faded yellow colour. Moss was growing on the roof.

"You've got to be kidding," Angie couldn't help cry aloud.

"It has character. Like a cabin," Amanda said trying to be optimistic.

"You know, most horror movies are set in cabins in the woods," Angie said.

"It's Forks. Nothing horrific is going to happen."

"You're probably right. It's so small that if there was a deranged killer on the loose they'd probably know who it is by name. _Yup, it's Bill alright._"

"Angie, don't make fun of the locals. You've lived in smaller towns."

"Yeah, but smaller towns with running water and the newfangled invention known as electricity," Angie said. "Whose station wagon?"

There was another vehicle in the driveway in front of the house. Angie was hoping that it meant that this was the wrong address, that maybe they wouldn't be living in a cabin in the woods after all.

"Landlady I think," Amanda said. "She said that she'd meet us here. Her name is Meredith. She sounded very nice on the phone. She has another house on the lot where she lives. It's a lot of acreage. It'll be nice."

"Were there seriously no apartments in Port Angeles?" Angie asked.

Amanda ignored her daughter and stopped the car in front of their new home.

"Let's have a look," she suggested eagerly as she exited the car.

Angie threw the pillow back to the backseat and followed her mother, though less eagerly.

Meredith Cooper was at the front door. She was a tall and hefty woman. She looked like she belonged in these surroundings. She wore thick denim jeans and a bright flannel jacket. She had a pair of glasses around her neck on a chain. Angie couldn't help but smirk at the sight.

"This is my daughter, Angie," Amanda introduced.

Meredith smiled and squeezed the girl's arms too tightly. "The boys around here will be glad for new young blood around here," Meredith said.

Angie felt that Meredith had a grandmotherly quality to her, but not the sweet little cookie baking kind, more like the wood-chopping, gun-toting, bear-wrestling kind. Angie just smiled awkwardly and waited to be released from the old woman's death grip.

"Well I'm guessing you want to have a good look around, eh?" the landlady said.

Angie was finally released. Meredith led Amanda through the house as Angie walked a few paces behind. The inside was better kept than the outside of the house, but it still seemed dated and bare. For the two of them, the house was spacious, especially since they had no furniture to show for as of right now. It was a quick tour; the house was, after all, a simple rancher style. Amanda still seemed excited about it. Angie figured that the excitement was legitimate. Amanda could be very fickle, she enjoyed having a place of her own, but she also hated being alone.

Angie wasn't sure how much her mom had actually told Meredith. The landlady kept making comments about having a new family in the neighbourhood, making Angie wonder if Meredith was expecting the husband to arrive. Meredith was also interested in how Amanda planned to layout the place, where the sofas would go, how many dressers for the bedrooms, and so on. Amanda had a very roundabout way of answering that usually satisfied everyone. Meredith would be in for quite the surprise when the moving truck never arrived.

Angie stood the in room that would be hers. It was an empty box. There wasn't even a closet. Not that it mattered; she doubted that she had enough clothes with her to fill a closet. Angie didn't even know what her mother had packed for her. Maybe the shoes on her feet would be all that she had.

Amanda came up behind her daughter and wrapped her arms around her. "So what do you think?"

Angie had to think if she was going to answer honestly or not. "It could be worse."

That was good enough of an answer for Amanda who hugged her daughter.

"So I can still go to school tomorrow?" Angie asked.

"Can you?" Amanda laughed, "Babe, you have no choice, you have to."

"What? No personal day?" Angie joked.

"Come on, let's unload the car," Amanda said.


	2. Building Bridges

Phase One - Chapter Two: Building Bridges

Doug had apparently found the note on the kitchen table. He had a period of overreaction in which Amanda Pochoda turned her phone off altogether. This wasn't helping matters; in fact, it was making trying to accept the cabin in the woods even harder. Neither Angie nor her mother had a bed yet, just blankets on the floor. Without going back to Doug's house, there was no way of getting their stuff back. Amanda tried to compensate by buying a few necessities everyday so they could at least eat at home, but having cheap dishes didn't make up for not having a real bedroom. There was only one solution. Angie had to be sent as an ambassador.

Doug wasn't exactly glad to see the daughter of his ex-girlfriend, but he bit his tongue and agreed to be civil. Angie wasn't sure what was to become of her stuff while under Doug's ownership, but thankfully he wasn't the kind of guy to go into a destructive rage. Angie was allowed to re-enter the home and take what she could carry. Obviously it wasn't much. She couldn't dismantle her bed and carry it out. Even if she could, it wouldn't fit in her mom's car. Thankfully all of this chaos wasn't taking place on the exam weekend. The last week of regular classes was pretty much a write-off anyway. As long as Angie was able to do the review assignments she'd be set.

Amanda had to work on Saturday and despite Angie's plea to go into town with her, Angie was forced to stay in Forks. This would be the longest time she'd spent in the house and the first time that she'd be in it alone. The reason that Angie couldn't go back to Port Angeles with her mom was because the landlady had called a maintenance worker to come to the house to fix up some of the neglected details: doors that didn't quite shut, drafty windows, and a certain light fixture that hummed in a very concerning way.

Angie stayed in the kitchen with her homework. It was still very bare, but at least the Pochodas had a basic table and a few chairs. It looked less pathetic than the Wednesday they first moved in. Angie had the radio playing to keep her company. With the eerie sounds that the house made, it was too weird to leave the place totally quiet. As awkward as she figured it would be to be in a home alone with random maintenance workers, Angie was hoping that they'd arrive soon. She'd rather be freaked out by something or someone than freaked out by nothing.

Even with the radio on, Angie was able to hear the sound of grinding gravel rocks. Someone was pulling up into the driveway. Angie went to the living room window to see. Two vehicles were coming up. One was Meredith's station wagon and behind that was a white truck. That meant the maintenance guys were here. Angie was glad that the landlady was with them.

Meredith waited for the people to get out of the truck. The man that came out of the driver's side was tall with dark black, shortly cropped hair. From the window, Angie couldn't tell what ethnicity he was, but his skin had a tan copper glow to it. The second one, who had come out from the passenger side, was almost as tall as the first; his hair was also dark black but lengthier, and though he had tanned skin, when the two men stood near one another it was clear that the passenger had less redness than the driver. The three of them, Meredith included, came up to the front porch. Angie went to the front door before they got there.

"Ah, I wasn't sure if you were going to be around. Didn't see your mother's car in the road," the landlady said when Angie opened the door.

"She had to go into work today," Angie replied.

"She left you to keep the house?" Meredith asked light-heartedly.

"I guess."

"Well, this is Nelson Perdit," Meredith introduced, "he does maintenance over at the La Push resort. He'll just be looking things over, see what needs to be done."

Angie just nodded her head. She knew why he was here. She didn't need the explanation.

"Sounds good," Angie finally said. She backed up and let the visitors enter.

At first Angie was curious about the guy who accompanied Mr Perdit since he received no introduction, but up close, despite the difference in size and skin tone, it was clear that this other guy, this much younger guy, must have been Mr Perdit's son. They had the same high cheekbones, wide framed nose, and round eye shape, but that was about it for physical similarities. By the time Angie had connected the two as father and son in her head, she realized that she must have been staring awkwardly for a quite a while. Consciously she bowed her head down a little and looked away. The Perdit son had a smile planted on his face. Angie was mortified. The first guy she meets around here that's her own age and she manages to embarrass herself before they even get in the door.

Meredith wasted no time in taking Mr Perdit to the first problem area. His son followed slowly behind, scanning the house as he went. When he came over the threshold, Angie shut the door behind him. He gave Angie half a smile and she returned one to him.

"It's pretty empty in here," he remarked.

"Yeah, we're still trying to get our stuff over," Angie replied.

"Oh yeah. Where'd you move from?"

"Um, technically just from Port Angeles," she confessed hesitantly.

"Technically?"

"We move a lot."

"So why Forks?" he asked.

"I have no idea. Wouldn't exactly have been my first choice."

He smiled and laughed a bit. "I don't blame you."

"Eli," Mr Perdit called over to his son, "can you get my toolbox from the truck?"

"Yeah, sure," Eli called back.

Angie opened the door for him and left it open. She figured that they had their work laid out for them so she went back to the kitchen to try to get some more homework done.

The son let himself back into the house and shut the door behind him. Angie watched him tote the large toolbox to his father. Mr Perdit took out the measuring tape and lined it along the bathroom door and then the door frame. He marked the wood. The door would have to be removed and the hinges replaced. He wouldn't do it now; he wanted to see the whole of what needed to be done. Meredith took Mr Perdit around and his son followed his heels like a puppy dog. Angie could hear them all muttering to one another and the sharp zip of the measuring tape retracting. It was a little distracting, but was much nicer than being completely alone in the creepy empty cabin in the woods.

Geometry, the worst part of any math class. Angie was never bad with numbers, but long answer questions were another story. She had to reread each question at least three times before she could get a good diagram doodled on the page. After about an hour of doing the calculations and writing out every detail of her work, she flipped to the back of the book only to find that her answer was completely off.

"You've got to be kidding," she sighed to herself, erasing the half a page of work she had just done. She read over the question aloud, though not loud enough for anyone in the house to have heard her. Why did she have to calculate dimensions of a non-existent bridge? When would she ever need this knowledge? She wasn't planning on being an engineer.

"Hey," a new voice in the kitchen said.

Angie looked up. It was the junior Perdit.

"Hi?" she said.

"Just giving you a heads up that we're gonna flip off the power to get a look at that hall light."

"Okay, sure."

"It's just homework anyway, right?" he joked.

"Pretty much. Who knows, maybe it'll make more sense in the dark."

"Whatch'ya working on?"

"Math. Just some dumb geometry stuff," Angie complained.

He came in and looked down at the sheet.

"Ah, long answer," he said knowingly.

"Yeah, I wish they'd just give us the diagram. It would be so much easier."

"Yeah, but who said that bridge building was easy?" he joked. "So where are you getting stuck?"

Angie was taken aback. "I never said that I was stuck," she said defensively.

He laughed, "No but your paper looks like it's seen better days."

Angie bowed her head in shame. Who did this guy think he was?

He must have taken the hint. He toned his smile down a bit. "I did this stuff last year."

So that explained it. He wasn't _just_ a smartass.

"I've done this question like six times. There's just too many things going on, I can't keep track of them," Angie said.

"Do you mind?" he asked politely while motioning for her pencil.

She handed it to him.

He began to sketch on the top corner of her paper.

"So you've got two bridges. The support beams for each bridge come down at 32.5 degrees," as he spoke he marked the triangular supports of his bridge.

"Yeah, I get that. And the other bridge comes down at the same angle only the beams are shorter, 4 instead of 7."

"Right so what information is still missing?"

"Well it's symmetrical so it's an isosceles which means that the other corner is also at a 32.5 degree angle. I've been solving for the angle but it's always off. I think maybe the book is wrong."

"Possible, but unlikely. What you're missing is this part here," he said pointing to the original question. "There's a main support, like a table leg, so that comes down at 90 degrees, right?"

"Yeah, and the two other ones attach to it on the angle…"

"Right, but look at your question. How many triangles are you dealing with here?" he asked.

"One on each bridge…oh crap!"

He laughed. "So how many triangles?"

"It's two right angle triangles. I'm such an idiot!"

"It's tricky when they have you look at six things at once. It's trying to trip you up."

"Well it works," Angie replied taking back her pencil and writing out her formulas. Now that that frustration was out of the way, Angie became a little more conscious of how short she'd been with this actually really helpful guy. "Thanks for sketching it out," she said a little more calmly.

"No problem."

"I uh…I didn't catch your name…" Angie said awkwardly.

"Eli.".

"Angie."

"Hi."

"Hi."

The lights went out.

"Well…" Eli said being purposely awkward. "I should probably go give the old man a hand."

He left and met his father in the back of the hall where the laundry room door access was. Angie looked at the pages in front of her. There was no point to sitting around here so she went into the hallway too. She saw Mr Perdit atop a step stool unscrewing the light fixture. Eli stood close by ready to be handed the glass casing. After that the base came down and was handed down to his son, light bulb and all. Eli set everything down on the carpet.

"Light," Mr Perdit demanded.

Eli was quick at finding the flashlight in the toolbox and passing it up to his father. Mr Perdit had a look around the dark space in the ceiling.

"Well?" the landlady asked.

"I'd get a real electrician in here. It's not looking too healthy," Mr. Perdit admitted.

Meredith sighed, probably calculating how much it would cost to update the wiring.

Mr Perdit stepped down and turned to his son, "I taped the hall fuse. You can flip the others back on." He then turned to Meredith, "So aside from that, you'll need to replace the bathroom window. I can take the measurements down to the shop if you want, give you a quote. I might have some hinges, so I'll look into that. I can come do some caulking, tomorrow maybe. That door," he said pointing to Angie's room, "the wood's warped a little, it happens, I can sand it down a bit and refit it. Shouldn't be a problem." He then turned to Angie, "You have a sheet or some towels to lay down? Just to keep the dust together."

"Yeah, sure."

The kitchen and bathroom lights came on.

"Eli, I'll take top, you take bottom," Mr Perdit said.

They each removed a hinge while Angie took hold of an old table cloth and laid it in her bedroom doorway.

"Hope you don't have dust allergies," Eli joked to Angie as Mr Perdit was piecing together the parts of a sander from his toolbox.

"I guess it's safer back with the geometry," Angie said to Eli.

"Good luck," he said with a playful smile.

"Yeah, you too."

From the kitchen Angie could hear the sander go off. It wasn't long before Meredith sauntered into the kitchen too, probably to seek cover from the flying dust. It didn't take long, barely even a minute. When everything went silent, Angie and the landlady peered into the hallway to see Mr Perdit smooth the door and the door frame by hand.

"And that should do it," Mr Perdit announced with satisfaction. "Eli, you want to shake the sheet outside? Carefully."

"Sure."

His son obediently held up one corner at a time, gently shaking the scarce contents towards the centre.

"Want a hand?" Angie asked.

Eli didn't say anything but he didn't object either. Angie took two corners and he took the other two. Together they carried it outside and shook it out, trying not to breathe the little pieces in.

"So I'll be able to have a bedroom door now?" Angie asked.

"That was your door?" Eli asked her.

"It's supposed to be."

"So when do you officially move in?"

"Uh, three days ago."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I know, it looks like we've been here a whole three minutes," Angie confessed.

"Roughing it a bit, aren't ya?"

Angie gave a pathetic half smile and gathered up the table cloth until it was in a ball against her stomach.

The awkward pause was cut short by the sound of crunching gravel. Her mom was home.

Angie watched for Eli's reaction. Most people generally did a double take when it came to her mom, especially if they knew she _was_ her mother. But Angie was the one who was surprised. Eli seemed unmoved. He just had a generally cheerful personality.

Amanda parked a fair distance from the two vehicles in the driveway, giving them room to back out later. She opened the back door and pulled out a large box. She struggled to get hold of it but once she got it she held onto it as if her life depended upon it. She shut the car door with her hip and walked up the drive.

Eli bounded off the porch towards the lady of the house.

"Need a hand with that?" he asked politely.

Amanda could barely see him past the rectangular box. "Oh, hello," Amanda said awkwardly yet friendlily. "No thank you, I've got it."

Eli wouldn't take no for an answer. He took hold of it.

"Oh, okay, then," Amanda said awkwardly as she released it to the strange teenage boy. "Just inside the door then."

She walked behind him as he went back up to the house. When she got to the porch and saw her daughter standing there, she said perkily, "Hey pumpkin. Who's the kid?"

"His name is Eli, he's helpful," Angie replied very matter-of-factly.

"Apparently. Is he part of the maintenance crew?"

"Yeah, his dad just fixed my door."

"Oh good."

Amanda wasted no time in finding Meredith standing over Mr Perdit. She caught them both off guard. Meredith was friendly, but Mr Perdit just kept screwing the hinges back in place and was intending to be ignored.

Amanda would not be ignored. Immediately she began to introduce herself. Her optimistic nature was very often unexpected by those meeting her for the first time. Meeting the Perdits was no exception. She didn't have a sarcastic undertone like her daughter did. In fact, it was as if Amanda was completely unaware of the dismal environment currently surrounding her. Right away she tried to take up conversation with Mr Perdit, resulting in completely ignoring the landlady's contributions on who Mr Perdit was, what he did for a living, and what he was actually contributing to the cabin.

Mr Perdit seemed more than a little awkward around Amanda's intensity. Angie could only laugh inside. Amanda's friendly voice and flirty voice were often mistaken one for the other. This one was just the friendly voice, but only Angie could identify it as such.

Mr Perdit kept all personal answers short.

_Yes, he is married._

_Yes, he and his family lived in La Push._

_Yes, he went to college and was a certified carpenter._

_No, he had no intentions of moving off of the reserve._

_Yes, the resort is lovely._

Amanda Pochoda could natter on and on about himself all day long. She could also list-off millions of questions that Angie often felt never needed to be asked. Angie had a greater sense of personal space. If someone wanted you to know their life story, they would probably just tell you. Angie didn't believe in digging into people.

While Mr Perdit was trying to change conversation to address the structural needs of the rental house, Eli had the biggest smile on his face, trying very hard to hold back the immense laughter building up inside of him. He knew his dad to be the shier type. Being flirted with a bubbly young white woman he just met was, to say the least, awkward. If his dad knew how to blush, he would have been red as a tomato by now. That was one of the ways Eli and his father differed. Eli's cheeks always went pink, but Nelson Perdit (and his father, Moses Perdit) had a great deal of calm in them that seemed to keep him totally serene, even if he didn't actually feel the intensity of emotions.

Angie couldn't let the group continue to suffer. It was time to pull her mother back.

"Hey, Mom," she interrupted, or at least tried to. Amanda basically brushed her daughter off with the typical adult phrase "_I'm talking_." Angie just shook her head and shrugged. She looked over at Eli who still had the largest smile planted on his face. This was not a great start.


	3. Acquaintance Courtship

Chapter Three: Acquaintance Courtship

Mr Perdit didn't talk much about his day when he got home. He had no need to. Eli was more than ready to ramble on about the day's adventures, laughing all the while at his easily embarrassed father. His mother just smiled and shook her head as Eli went on about the details of the Pochoda house. When he mentioned how fervently his father had been hit on, his mother just gave an amused glance over in her husband's direction. Mr Perdit either wasn't listening or was pretending not too.

Mary Agnes Perdit was a sweet natured woman. She was nurturing and optimistic. She didn't feel any threat from Forks, at least not for her husband. Eli wasn't her first son so she was well aware of the distractions of the teenage male mind.

"So how old is the daughter?" Mrs Perdit asked slyly as she continued to prepare dinner.

"I dunno. She was doing tenth grade math. Technically that could mean anything," Eli replied. "Why?"

"No reason," Mrs Perdit answered humbly. "So are they making themselves at home in Forks?"

Eli gave a half laugh, "They've got a long way to go."

"But they're just from Port Angeles, aren't they?"

"Yeah. I don't know the details but there's something sketchy. The whole place is completely empty. Not a scrap in it. It's crazy. Not even a bed to sleep on."

Mrs Perdit seemed almost horrified at the idea. She was quick to call her husband into the kitchen and questioned him thoroughly on the matter. By the end of it, she was ready to act.

"Eli," his mother called, "go clear off your brother's bed.

"What?"

"Daniel's bed. Go clear it off. Then you can your father can take it down."

Eli and his father were not as eager to take on this task as Mrs Perdit would have liked. Nelson looked down for a minute and then agreed.

"Eli," he said to his son, "deal with the mattress and we'll finish the rest after dinner." He tapped his son's shoulder and went back into the TV room.

Eli's predictable smile was not present. Dismantling his brother's bed was seemed a little too final to him. Eli and his older brother Daniel used to share a bedroom. The room was literally divided in half. There was a bed and a desk on each side. His brother had only been gone for a few months so far, but his not being there made the room empty enough as is. Daniel's fate hadn't really been discussed as a family. His parents weren't really the type to focus on the negative. They simply carried on as normal. Being asked to take down the last traces of Daniel's presence in the room was like taking Daniel out of the family. Eli wasn't sad about it. He had stopped being a fan of his brother about six months ago. Daniel gradually started acting out, getting angry at the slightest little thing, and finally their dad kicked him out after he ripped off the bedroom door in one of his fits. Getting rid of that Daniel was easy enough, but Daniel's half of the room had been there since Eli could remember, it was all he had left of who his brother once was. He tossed the pillows across the room, grabbed the sheets off of the mattress and threw them onto his own bed. He grabbed the mattress and dragged it into the hall.

Once the bed was dismantled after dinner, Eli was starting to breathe normally again. It was the last chapter for his brother, but maybe it was a new one for the Pochodas.

Mr Perdit's motivation to return to the Pochoda home was based purely on his promise to Meredith Cooper. Meredith was a family friend to the Perdits, mainly to Nelson's father and mother who owned a small horse ranch on the reservation. Although Meredith was no relation to the Quileute or any American band, she had become a great supporter of the people. It was a friendship developed unexpectedly. Meredith may have lived reclusively, but so did the Perdits on the horse ranch.

When Nelson Perdit was loading up his truck, Eli came running out.

"Need a hand?" Eli asked eagerly.

"Whether I do or not, you're coming aren't you?" Nelson joked.

"Can I drive?"

Nelson gave his son the _don't push your luck, kid_ look.

Eli just smiled and jumped into the passenger's seat.

His motivation to the Pochoda home derived from two sources. On the one hand, he didn't want to have to be the babysitter in case his mother went out. Eli had a younger brother and sister, and was the only teenage child still living at home. This was not how he wanted to spend the last day of the weekend. On the other hand, if events at the Pochoda house went anything like the day before, Eli didn't want to miss it.

Whichever of Eli's reasons initially motivated him to join his father in Forks, it was certainly quickly dwarfed upon seeing a certain female cyclist going up the same north bound road. Mr Perdit didn't seem the least bit phased by the bicyclist, but Eli knew better than to not take a second glance at any young girl who might be passing by.

The girl had obviously noticed the truck and had distanced herself a lot more to the shoulder, giving the vehicle plenty of room to pass her. She rode with determination, not turning her head to either side any more so than what was necessary. Her ponytail barely moved behind her, which was even more surprising since the helmet she was supposed to be wearing was still strapped to her backpack and not actually on her head. Someone like Nelson Perdit would consider the cyclist to be exercising a mix of forgetfulness and idiocy. Someone like Eli Perdit would consider the cyclist to be exercising a mild form of rebellion. Needless to say, Eli broke out in a grin and withheld his predictable chuckle.

Nelson passed the cyclist.

"Hey, it's the girl from the Cooper place," Eli said aloud as he looked back at her.

Nelson checked his rear-view mirror briefly, not really taking in any details about the person who was now becoming more and more distant.

"Oh yeah?"

"Should we give her a ride?" Eli suggested.

"Now, if she were a smart girl, what would she be doing getting in a car with a bunch of guys like us, huh?" Nelson joked in his serene way. "And if she isn't, well, what do we want her in our car for?"

"Watch it scare the crap out of her," Eli laughed as he pictured the scene that would take place if they pulled the truck over.

Nelson slowed the truck down a bit. Eli's smile grew. In that moment all he could think of was how generous his father was being, and he didn't mean towards the girl either. Nelson pulled the truck over and stopped.

"You might want to flag her down before she catches up to us," Nelson suggested to his son. "We don't want this to get misinterpreted now."

Eli laughed, and even though his father didn't, Eli knew that his dad was just as humoured by his own joke. Without further prompting, Eli jumped out of the car and stood behind it. She was getting closer. Eli cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted out a "hey".

Angie slowed down. The truck was in her part of the shoulder anyway.

"Car trouble?" she asked swiftly. It wasn't entirely clear if she was being sincere or sarcastic. Eli took it in good humour anyway.

"Nope. You?" Eli replied.

"You mean aside from the one in my way?" She didn't say it in a snarky way. She smiled, playing off of Eli's generally upbeat attitude. She even almost laughed at herself.

"We're just heading over to your place. You want a ride?"

Angie looked down at her bike and then over to the box of the truck.

"Don't worry, there's room," Eli said in anticipation of her reply.

She hesitated for a moment. This was after all the middle of nowhere Forks. She had met these people once. She had to think if she could even remember their names. Not even three seconds had time to pass by before Angie found herself dismounting. Eli just smiled as he turned to open the truck box. Angie watched as the small door dropped down to reveal an array of wooden boards and what looked like a mattress and dresser.

"What's all that?" Angie asked curiously.

Eli took hold of her bike and lifted it up, trying to lay it beside the mattress and not on top of it.

"I'd say a welcoming present but I'll admit it it's only second hand stuff," Eli said.

"A welcoming present?"

"Yeah, no offence, but your place is a little bare."

"Hey, no offence taken."

Eli led her to the passenger side and opened the door. Nelson gave a nod and half waved his hand.

"Hi," Angie greeted awkwardly.

"I'll let you have the door," Eli said getting in first, scooting in beside his dad, "in case you feel the need to have an escape route or something."

Angie shook her head amusedly. He looked so awkward in that middle part of the bench, his legs squished up trying to avoid straddling the stick shift. She could have fit there a little more easily. She was a little smaller than he was. Nonetheless, Angie was happy not to be squished in-between two strangers. The one would be weird enough.

"So you were out exploring?" Nelson said unexpectedly.

Angie was caught off guard firstly because she wasn't sure if he was talking to her and secondly to what exactly he was referring to. After a moment it donned on her that she had just been picked up from the side of the road.

"Oh, yeah, I guess. Just wanted to see how long it would take me to reach some civilization," Angie replied.

Eli laughed, as he always did.

When the truck pulled into the lengthy gravel driveway, Mr Perdit had to ask, "Is your mother home?"

"Yeah, she should be. Her car's here," Angie replied.

Mr Perdit let out a barely audible sigh, but of course, Eli knew his dad's disappointment. He laughed at it.

They parked a fair distance from Amanda Pochoda's car, as if that would somehow prompt actual distance between them. Even Angie could feel the awkwardness brewing in Mr Perdit, and like Eli, she began to smile too. For as mellow as he seemed, Nelson Perdit was fairly animated. It was no wonder that Eli was always cheerful; it was easy to find something funny under these circumstances. A few more days of this and Angie was certain that Eli's humour would rub off on her. That wouldn't be so bad.

When the truck came to a full stop, Angie figured that it would be the considerate thing to do if she went in first. She asked Eli quietly if he and his dad needed someone to hold her mom off before they came in. Eli laughed and agreed.

"Hey," Eli called to her as he was climbing out of the truck, "if I grab your bike, where do you want me to put it?"

_Right, the bike!_ How could Angie have forgotten so quickly? But would it be rude to let him?

"I can get it," she told him.

"You go clear the way for my dad. I'll put it on the porch," he replied with a smile.

Angie hesitated for a second. Even she didn't know why.

"What? Don't trust me?" he asked playfully.

_Trust him?_ She didn't even know him!

"I trust you," she replied, "but just this once."

Eli laughed and watched her skip off up the driveway. It was very clear to Eli at that moment that Angie wasn't going to be like other girls.

Mr Perdit waited by the truck with his toolbox in hand. Eli walked by him, bike in hand. "Think the coast is clear yet?" Eli joked. He didn't wait for his dad's reaction. He just kept walking straight up to the house to deliver the bike.

The front door was open about an inch. From that small gap Eli could hear the two girls inside. Amanda Pochoda's voice bounced off of every surface, though she did not seem as perky today as the last time he had seen her. Although Eli couldn't see inside, he could imagine the scene.

Angie was very blunt about things. She was trying to tell her mom to clear out of the way and let Mr Perdit do the repairs, but Amanda had her own train of thought well underway. There was no interrupting her.

- "I just don't see why he won't just drop it off. It's not like he's going to keep it!"

- "Mom."

- "He's got to take it apart and load it into the truck anyway. Hell, I'll drive it here!"

- "Mom!"

- "It's not like he didn't have it coming anyway!"

- "Mom!"

But it wasn't Angie's pleas for attention that made Amanda's rant come to an abrupt end. Eli had come inside figuring that Angie might need some backup.

"Oh, hi," Amanda said in a high pitched sweetened voice, "Luke, right?"

"Eli. But close enough," he replied.

"Right. Sorry. Hey, where's your dad?"

"Mom…" Angie sighed.

"Just out at the truck. You mind if we bring some stuff in?"

"No, sure, go ahead." Amanda turned to her daughter, "Angie, don't go getting in their way, okay?"

Angie sighed again which made Eli break into his smile. She was glad that he didn't laugh this time.

"I don't know," Eli said playfully to her, "how strong's your arm?"

Amanda laughed and walked away.

"Are you serious?" Angie had to ask him.

"You could hold the door," Eli suggested.

"I could find a door stop," she replied, and she did just that.

Eli and his father carried in the dresser, then the mattress, and then the bed frame. After the items were inside, Mr Perdit addressed the last of his unfinished business as Eli laid out the bed frame, ensuring that all of the pieces were there. Angie sat beside him and "helped".

"It's just the one, so you and your mom will have to fight over it," Eli said.

"She's been trying to negotiate getting my room stuff back. Hopefully it works out - then I can at least get my bed back."

"What's the problem?"

"Aside from the fact that my mom and her ex-boyfriend break-out into a full out war when they have to speak to each other, mom's car doesn't hold all that much and Doug won't bring it over in his."

"So that's what the fuss was about when I walked in?"

Angie sighed, "Yeah, at least at the moment."

"Hey, if you need to borrow a truck, we kinda have one," he offered.

"Don't worry about it," Angie said. "It's all between him and my mom. I don't even get involved if I can help it."

Angie regretted having told Eli even this much. She figured that despite the fact that this guy was a bizarrely helpful person, it was better just to stay out of Amanda's affairs, and worse would be to drag someone else into them.

Eli figured that Angie's distant nature wasn't to be taking personally. What went on within a family wasn't always pleasant and therefore not always shared. Angie seemed like an honest enough girl, and by the way she shrugged off her current circumstances, Eli figured that she was growing numb to it. As curious as Eli was, he thought he should wait before prying any little deeper. She probably wouldn't say anything on her own accord, but Eli knew that he could be intimidatingly forward sometimes so bombarding her would most likely backfire. He'd first have to convince her that he wasn't just some creep. He was genuinely interested.

It didn't take long before Amanda checked up on the kids in the living room. Obviously conversation with Nelson Perdit had finally become a lost cause.

"It was very nice of your parents to lend us this stuff," Amanda said.

"No problem. My mom likes to help, and we had it all just lying around anyway. I've got older siblings who don't live at home anymore. Lots of stuff to spare," he explained.

"Well this is only temporary. We should be getting some of our own furniture in soon," Amanda said.

"Yeah, that's what Ange was saying. You guys need a truck for it?"

Amanda took a moment before answering. She gave her daughter the _what did you say, now_ look, to which Angie replied with the _I didn't say anything_ look.

"It should be cool with my dad. Just say the word, let's do it."

Amanda turned to her daughter and said, "Angie, you want to give him a call?"

Angie didn't verbally reply, but everything about her said _no_. Of course she knew that the question was rhetorical and therefore Angie had no real choice. She slumped away into the kitchen where her mom's cell was on the counter.

Eli also abandoned the living room to find his dad drilling door hinges into the wall.

"Hey, can I take the truck out for a bit?" Eli asked very directly.

Nelson gave his son the _what are you talking about_ look.

"Just to help them bring in some of their stuff from Forks," he explained.

"Now?"

"Why not?"

Eli knew perfectly well why not – his dad didn't want to be left alone with Amanda Pochoda and no escape route. Nelson continued to give his son the _over my dead body _look while Eli enacted pleading and grovelling.

Angie wandered into the hallway with her mother's cell phone held five inches away from her ear. The mumbled ranting on the other side of the phone was audible to both Eli and his dad. Angie looked absolutely humiliated. She cupped the phone and whispered to Eli, "You really don't have to do this."

She was sincere and even a little afraid.

He just smiled and nodded back. His gesture told her: _"You don't have to do it alone either."_

Nelson Perdit sighed. Of all the people Meredith Cooper had to let the place to, it had to be to a crazy woman and a trigger for his middle son's raging hormones. Damn moral obligations! He reached into his jeans' pocket and pulled out the truck keys.

"What kind of stuff do you have?" Nelson asked the girl.

"Just some bedroom furniture," Eli replied for her as the ranting continued through the phone.

"Take the pocket drill with you," Nelson told his son as he tossed him the keys.

- "I don't know. Twenty minutes?" Angie said into the phone. "No she won't, I promise." She backtracked into the kitchen, still trying to maintain some civility with Doug on the other end.

"Hey," Nelson said to his son in English and then switched into Quillayute as he said, "mind yourself."

There was more than the severity of a father in those words. It was one of the rare occasions that Eli's smile faded. His breath was practically held until his father spoke again.

Nelson broke out into the smile that his son usually sported. "And don't you dare leave me here," he joked in their tribal language.

Eli smiled again and he grabbed the compact battery operated drill from the toolbox.

"Don't worry," Eli replied in Quillayute, "I'll try not to run off too far with the white girl."

Nelson Perdit just shook his head. Damn teenage boys.

Angie was uncomfortable with the thought of going with Eli for two reasons. First, she really didn't want to have to see Doug again. Second, she didn't actually think that Eli could drive – not that he wasn't old enough to have a permit, it was just that the truck was an old stick shift. Bunny-hopping to Forks didn't sound like a great idea. Eli showed no signs of doubt of course, which probably meant that he was just trying to show-off. This could easily get awkward very quickly.

Angie was only partially right about the show-off thing. Eli's whole chivalrousness was partly based on making a good impression for himself, but he wasn't unrealistic. White girls weren't exactly eager for La Push guys. This Angie girl probably had a boyfriend of her own, anyway. Either way, Eli was raised to do the right thing. That part was completely genuine. As for the truck, he had been driving tractors and cars around his grandfather's ranch since he was in elementary school. His driving test had been a piece of cake, especially since he did it in his brother's automatic. That was the one thing that Eli had hoped to get when his brother moved out, but so far it looked like a lost cause. His parents seemed determined that Daniel would be getting better. Eli wasn't so sure about that.

The drive was a quiet one. Angie fixed her eyes on the window, not even really looking out of it. Every half a minute Eli looked over at his passenger, trying to think of something non-cheesy to say.

"So are you gonna miss it?" he asked out of the blue.

Angie was forced to snap back to reality. "Huh? I'm sorry?"

"I said are you going to miss it? Port Angeles?"

"Oh. Um, I don't know. I've only lived here a few months. Didn't really get attached to anything. The school maybe. I only just started to get a feel for the teachers and stuff, but I guess one school is pretty much like all the others. I miss my room, just having my space. I miss having an Internet connection. Most of my friends are still in Everett and Vancouver. We just keep moving all the time. It's kinda disconnecting." Angie didn't expect to leave herself so open, but there she was and it was kind of saddening. "You live your whole life out here?"

"Born and raised. All my siblings, too. Both my parents, but my dad got out during his college years."

"And he went back to the reserve?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's small and there's not always a lot to do, but it's not bad. It's home."

"You think you'll go back, after college I mean – if you're going…" she asked awkwardly.

Eli smiled. "College is in the plans, that's for sure. As for the other, I don't know. I kinda wanna get out there, see some things. La Push is great for families and stuff, and I guess I could see myself going back, but I think I could easily get used to something else, someplace bigger. Can't hurt to try anyway," he said. "What about you?"

"I don't know. I mean, a part of me would love to get out there and travel, see the world and all that, but another part would really like to just stay still."

"Well, you did just move against your will," he added.

"Again."

"Again," he agreed. "You might change your mind later on. Who knows, you might just stay in Forks."

"I'll be lucky if I stay in Washington before I graduate. We seem to have a habit of moving southwards. Maybe I'll graduate in California."

"That'd be cool. Cap and gown by the Hollywood sign," Eli said.

"My goal is just to make it to grad. After that I can just go to school for four years in one place, on my own where I can do what I want on my own terms."

"So where will you go?"

"I don't know yet," she admitted. "Anywhere with a soccer field is fine with me."

"Soccer, huh? You play or watch?"

"Play, and sometimes coach," she said.

"Really?"

There was a bit of shock and excitement in his voice. It made Angie smile. Finally, a happy subject.

"Yeah. I've been in teams since I was five. There's a soccer camp for kids in Vancouver that'd I've been going to since I was eight. Last summer they asked me to go in as a coach/camp leader. I know, it's kinda cheesy, but it is fun and it's a summer job."

"Yeah. Guess you can't beat that. You play on a team here?"

"No. Showing up in the winter season doesn't help. But I was looking into it for the summer and fall seasons. Might suck if I transfer to a Forks school, though."

"Forks has soccer."

"Does it?"

"I think it must. If La Push has it, you know the white kids do too. Probably with the Rec centre or the school at least."

"I'll have to look into that. What about you? Are you a sports guy or..."

"Why do girls always judge guys based on sports?"

Angie didn't mean to offend him. "I didn't mean anything by it."

Eli laughed. "I know, I know. It's just not an easy answer. I mean, yeah, I play sports in gym class and stuff, but I'm not on a team or anything. I'm an outdoorsy guy, you know? Camping, hiking, boating, that stuff."

He waited for her reaction. She was straight-faced.

"Okay, I get it, I'm weird!" Eli said.

Angie laughed. "Hey, I'm the girl who plays sports. Most people think that's weird. Or they think that we aren't competitive. So wrong."

"You do tournaments and stuff?"

"Oh yeah. It's kinda funny though. I switch teams so often that sometimes I end up playing against teams that I was on."

"Ah, so you're a traitor? Rogue spy with no loyalties."

"Oh yes, aren't I fierce?"

"I'd be worried," he joked.

And just like that the awkward silence between strangers was history. It wasn't quite like talking to an old friend, but it was close; it was talking to a new one. Angie learned that Eli was a trained grease monkey, earning his summer salary from garage work on cars, boats and lawnmowers. Eli learned that Angie was into action movies. They learned that they both had an insatiable love for candy bar flavoured ice cream, but more importantly than that, they were surprisingly both diehard fans of the TV show _Carl Fallen_. Angie had missed the last episode because of the move, something which Eli was devastated to hear. The season finale was coming up soon and missing an episode could jeopardise the flow of the series. He made it his duty to insist that she catch-up as soon as possible, even if it meant she's have to come to La Push just to watch it at his place. She agreed, but Eli wasn't entirely sure if she thought that he was just joking. Either way, it was a good sign. She was relaxed now and it looked like she was having a good time with him, even if it was only a short road trip.

"_This is good progress,"_ Eli thought. She was sure pretty when she smiled. He liked that. He was going to make it his job to ensure that she always smiled. And she did, right up until they pulled onto Whidby Street. Angie tensed up immediately. Even Eli's smile faded. He didn't want to be responsible for making her this uncomfortable, but he had to think of it as a rescue mission. How could she feel at home in Forks if she couldn't even have her own stuff?

Angie reluctantly directed Eli to her former home, to Doug's home. "It's on your side. Right there beside the big yellow house. The white one with the tree stumps out front." She spoke quietly, detached like she was the day before and this morning.

Eli backed into the driveway.

"I can just go in and start grabbing stuff if you want," he offered.

"No, it's okay," she replied.

She jumped out of the truck and marched up to the front door. Eli followed purposely behind her.

Angie took in a breath before knocking on the door. It opened. For as young as Amanda Pochoda looked, the guy standing in the doorway was even younger. He was the same height as Eli, but Eli was still a growing teenager. Doug's sandy hair was scruffed and his face was unshaven. Angie remembered Doug's weekend look well. His faded jeans and Def Lepard t-shirt was iconic, though Angie still hadn't figured out who Def Lepard was. In any case, Doug was definitely something right out of an 80's stoner movie.

"Hey Squirt," Doug greeted, but not in a very friendly way. He may have been talking to Angie, but his attention was on Eli. A red-skinned Indian on the doorstep was never a good sign. Was he being paid in beer or female affection? Doug, of course, assumed the lowest and decided that it was truth.

Angie entered, but when Eli went to follow, Doug's arm flew down and grabbed the door, blocking Eli's way.

"Hold up there, Chief," Doug said.

Eli wasn't impressed, but he was ready for whatever this guy was going to dish out. He stood his ground.

Angie ducked under Doug's arm. "He's just helping me load the stuff. He's a friend," she defended.

"I bet he is," he said harshly. "Just keep your hands off my stuff." Doug lifted his arm and stepped back. "Everything's where you left it. You got twenty minutes." And with that he planted himself on the living room couch where he could monitor the access to the kitchen and watch the hall from the reflection on the TV.

Angie shut her bedroom door behind them and then was finally able to breathe.

"Sorry 'bout him. He can be a jerk sometimes," she said.

"Don't worry about it. I'm a rez kid, I've been dealt worse than that," he said trying to be good humoured about it, although it didn't exactly make Angie feel any better.

Eli didn't know what to expect when he entered Angie's room, but he was surprised to see how unlike her current one it was. Knowing that she hadn't been in Port Angeles long, and very much used to moving on a moment's notice, he was impressed by how this room looked so lived-in and personalised. The walls were sage green with white trim. There were marks on the wall from where pictures and posters once hung. She had a double bed with a headboard that matched her dresser and side tables. Although the bedding had been stripped and most surfaces were bare, Eli could imagine what her room must have looked like just a few weeks ago: sports gear on the floor, team photos and trophies on the bookshelf, a computer on the dresser like a desk, maybe even a stuffed animal or two on the bed. He liked what he saw.

"So how do you want to do this?" Angie asked him with a hint of exasperation.

"We'll start with the bed and go based on priority from there. Sound good?" he said optimistically.

The bed was easy. They pulled the mattress and box-spring off, and thanks to the compact drill, Eli had the headboard removed from the frame in no time. He kept the frame together and flipped it onto its side.

"So, how's that arm strength?" he asked her.

The tough part was finding something sturdy to get her hands around and still support half of the frame, but Eli took on most of the weight and even walked backwards with his end all the way to the truck. They had to do the same with the rest of the pieces of the bed, and then Eli had to dismantle more furniture. While he removed the drawers from the dresser, Angie carried the side tables out to the truck. She took out the detached drawers until Eli was ready to take the dresser. Once again he walked backwards as Angie held up the other end. It had taken more than twenty minutes but Doug hadn't moved from the couch so they figured that they were safe.

"Done yet?" he called out as Angie and Eli were heading back to the room to pick up the last of it.

"Yeah," Angie replied.

She had to take another breath as she closed her bedroom door behind her. She was saying goodbye to her space. Eli touched her arm and led her out. She'd feel better in the truck, he was sure of it.

He opened her door for her and held it as she slid into her seat. She didn't look at him. When he got into the driver's seat he just sat there in silence with her. It wasn't a minute before Angie realized that he hadn't even put the key into the ignition. She finally looked over at him to see him staring at her. Had he been doing that the whole time?

"Where to?" he asked her.

She looked confused. "Just back to Forks?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah? Why? Where else would we go?"

"Wherever we want. At least wherever half a tank can get us. We might have to pool our money together to get much further," he said and then cracked a smile.

He was defusing her, she could tell. She didn't mind. Angie bowed her head down and tried to loosen up.

"Maybe next weekend when my furniture isn't in the back of the car," she said, trying to be as good humoured as he was.

"It'd make for a killer campsite, though, eh?" he said.

"We'd need a tarp, a very large tarp."

"True. Next weekend it is, then."

Now he started up the truck.

Eli wasn't really planning on running off with her anywhere, but the thought of it kept him perky. As they were heading out of town, Eli pulled off the main stretch and started heading the opposite direction. Angie questioned him the whole time, asking him what he was doing and where he was going. She could only guess that he was actually filling up that half a tank of gas but then he had passed two gas stations. When he pulled up to the Greyhound station, Angie got worried.

He parked the truck and took the keys out of the ignition.

"Okay, seriously, what are you doing?" she demanded.

Eli smiled. "It's still a long way back to Forks.".

"So you're going to bus me there instead?"

"You trust me?"

This was the wrong time to be asking that question. He seemed like a great guy up until now, but now he was definitely pushing it.

Angie just stared at him.

He pointed to something by the corner of the windshield. She looked, then she fell back into her seat and began to laugh.

"Come on, it's the only Dairy Queen around here. Take advantage now, Miss world-traveler. Last I saw, they don't exist in Forks."

Angie had her hand over her face. He had her so worried. Why wouldn't he just say that they were going to randomly get soft serve ice cream?

"Fine," Eli said, "if you won't do it for you then do it for me. I'm the poor Indian kid. We don't have these. Damn paleface corporations deny us our human rights to Blizzards and Dilly Bars," he joked.

Angie kept laughing.

"What?"

Both hands hid her face.

"I'm serious!" Eli said. "I'll go in without you, don't think that I won't."

Angie's face was red and she was even beginning to cry.

"Alright," he said defeatedly. He pocketed his keys and got out of the car.

She wanted to go in with him and felt bad that she didn't, but she was currently an absolute wreck and couldn't contain herself at all, so it was probably for the best that she didn't venture too far out in public with him. How would she even be able to order? Were there hand signals for Blizzards?

She had managed to calm herself by the time he got back. She slid over and opened up his door for him since he had too cups in his hands.

"Thanks," he said as he pulled the door with his bent elbow. He was going to hand her the cups but as she went to take them, he pulled back. "Are you calm now?" he asked her.

"For now."

He handed her both cups so that he could climb into his seat. She looked at the ice cream filled cups. She recognized the treats right away.

"Now, you have to ask yourself one question," he said as he started up the truck, "candy coated chocolate or chocolate and peanut butter?"

"You can't drive and eat ice cream," she protested.

"That wasn't the question, but, you might be right," he said. "You can feed me, can't you?"

Angie didn't have to wonder if he was joking or not, even he couldn't keep a straight face as he said it. She mimicked flinging a spoonful of the ice cream at him.

"It's okay, I got it," he said and reached for one of the cups. He then placed it between his legs and kept driving. Every now and then he'd bring the spoon up to his mouth. At red lights he'd shovel as much in as he could. Angie just sat and enjoyed hers at a leisurely pace as she watched, waiting for him to drip and drop gobs of ice cream all over himself. By the end of it, she was disappointed yet impressed. For a guy, he wasn't that poorly coordinated.


	4. Just a Dinner

Chapter Four: Just a Dinner

Her room still didn't feel like home yet, but it was nice to at least be sleeping in her own bed. Amanda put the Perdits' furniture into her room as well as one of Angie's side tables since there was no room for it in her own bedroom. Angie was still getting used to this new environment. It still felt very temporary. But going back to Port Angeles for the rest of the week of classes didn't feel like home either. Leaving Doug's house on the weekend felt very finite. Being back in this school just felt strange, like she didn't belong – not in the same way as when she first transferred, but Angie felt like she was overstaying her welcome. Nothing could be done about it now. She still had to do the hour commute until all of her exams were done. Worse still was waiting around until Amanda finished work, two to three extra hours of waiting around in another ex-hometown. At least that meant study time. Usually she'd think of going to the library or her mom's shop, but for some reason all that Angie could think of was going down to the pier; that's where the Dairy Queen was. She got herself a table and made it a study station with a large cup of ice cream ready at hand. Even though she realized that this study plan was probably not the healthiest of choices, at this point it was the only comfortable place to be.

The electrician had come and gone. There was nothing exciting about that except that the hall light could now be turned on without the added buzzing of an old refrigerator. It was sort of disappointing that Mr Perdit couldn't have done it himself; now Angie had nothing to look forward to this weekend. No TV, no internet, just a long weekend of studying and solitaire. Not that she needed any more study time after the past week and a half worth of waiting around. She needed a backup plan before she went crazy.

"Hey, Mom," she said one day on the long drive into Forks, "how far is La Push?"

"La Push? I don't know. Maybe a half hour drive from Forks."

"Oh."

"Why 'Oh'?"

"Probably too far to bike to."

"You'd have a sore butt, that's for sure. What's in La Push?" Amanda was definitely hinting at something but she wouldn't flat out say it. She'd wait for her daughter to do that on her own.

"I just heard that it's nice out there. It's right up by the water."

"Miss the waterfront already, do you?" Amanda laughed.

"I don't know. I know I'm not a fan of being stuck out in the woods."

"Here we go again," Amanda sighed. "It's only for a while. It was cheap and available on short notice."

"I know."

"And it can't be all bad. What about that Nick guy? He seems nice."

"Nick?"

"Yeah. Or is that not why you've found interest in La Push?"

"Nick? You mean Nelson? Um, no, ew."

"What? You don't think he's cute?"

"For _you_ maybe. I'm not that into older _married_ guys."

"What? No, not the dad. What's the kid's name?"

"Eli."

"Okay, so I was off."

"Way off."

"Anyway, the point is, I thought that you two were getting along. Did you make any plans to get together?"

"No."

"So you were just going to bike into La Push for no reason?"

"Not for no reason. To see the beach. See what's around."

"You've hardly been around Forks."

"I did a lap; I think I got the gist of it."

"Did you see the school?"

Angie stayed silent.

"So you didn't see everything. That's what we should do this weekend, just hang around town, meet some people, maybe you'd meet some kids your age, then you'd know someone in your classes next year."

And there was Amanda's unfailing optimism kicking in. It was annoying. Not only did Angie's life have to suck but she had to be happy about it too.

Amanda had decided on the Friday drive home that Saturday would be the perfect day to beat around town. It was a close call; Amanda had found a quaint old greasy spoon restaurant and had just uttered the words, "We could try this for dinner," when her cell phone rang. It wasn't a number either of them knew. Amanda answered anyway.

_"Hello? Is this Amanda Pochoda?" _

Uh, oh, now what?Angie could barely make out what was being said on the other side of the phone, but her mother's expressions made her more eager to listen in.

_"My name is Maggie. My husband did some repairs on your home."_

His wife? Uh oh.

_"I wanted to welcome you to Forks myself."_

Well, at least she's friendly.

_"I was wondering if you and your daughter had any plans for the evening?"_

Angie had a feeling that this might be her saving grace. She interrupted by yelling over her mother, "No. No we don't!" at the phone.

The girl's eagerness made Mrs Perdit giggle a little. _"In that case, my family would like to invite you over for dinner. Northing formal, just a welcome-to-the-neighbourhood simple dinner."_

"We'd love to!" Angie yelled at the phone, giving Amanda no choice but to agree.

Mrs Perdit offered to send someone to pick them up, but Amanda was content to get directions and drive out there herself – she wanted an escape route after all.

This wasn't exactly what Angie would most want to do on a weekend, she didn't really want to dive headfirst into the Perdit house, but she was certain that it would be less awkward than her mom being forcibly sociable out in public – it was a small town after all. At least the Perdits were only one family and being embarrassed in from of one family in La Push was much safer than multiple families in Forks. Nelson and Eli would even have time to warn their family members about the awkward Pochodas. Having her mother forget everyone's name was the least of Angie's worries.

While Angie was fussing about her mother, Eli was fussing about everyone and everything in his home. Since his mother told him about the Pochodas' answer, Eli spent his time cleaning himself up and milled around the house trying to clean and organize things. His parents just laughed as he got all bent out of shape about the positioning of the sofa cushions.

Jokingly, Nelson said to his son, "No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to make it as spotless as theirs; we actually live here."

Eli brushed it off. The only thing that Eli was worried could possibly go wrong was Matthew, his twelve year old brother, and rightfully so. The moment Angie and her mother arrived, Matthew made the first impression: "Oh, so _you're_ the girl. Eli's been pushy all day because of you. He even spent three hours in the bathroom just gelling his hair."

It was an exaggeration of course, but if there was an occasion to embarrass his brother, Matthew wasn't going to waste it. Angie stood their speechless. For once she was the one trying not to laugh while Eli didn't look humoured at all. Although she didn't know a word of Quillayute, judging by Eli's bitter-sweet tone, Angie was pretty sure that he told his brother to shut-up or threatened to kill him, perhaps even both at the same time. Matthew ran out of arms' reach, just in case Eli would grab him even in the presence of company. Eli did his best to ignore his brother from that point forward and just forced a smile like nothing at happened.

Eli had hoped that the evening would be a little more intimate than it was. Maggie Perdit and Amanda chatted the whole time, while the youngest Perdit, Gabby, was excited to have another girl in the house and hogged Angie all to herself. The eight year old needed to show Angie her bedroom, her posters, her stuffed animals, and so forth. Angie had to laugh; the littlest Perdit was such a girly-girl. As Gabby was insisting that she should show Angie how well she can braid hair, Eli was trying to ease his sister off by trying to sell her on the idea of soccer. Gabby didn't seem too interested; in fact, she promptly declared the sport to be a boy's game. Angie could have disagreed but she didn't think starting an argument with an eight year old would be a mature thing to do. If anyone was going to be interested in the topic of soccer, it was Matthew, who, like his sister, was doubtful about girls playing sports. Angie didn't want to brag, but she assured him that she was pretty good. Eli tried to back her up by saying that she had medals and everything. Matthew couldn't be convinced without a demonstration so by the end of evening a playoff was declared, though chances were that it was never going to actually happen.

Nelson mostly kept quiet and hidden until dinner was served. He only really spoke when Amanda asked him a question directly; other than that, he would whisper some direction to his children, either in hushed English or Quillayute, and sometimes a mixture of both.

The dinner consisted of roast beef, potatoes, vegetables and fresh bread, much like anyone would expect at a special dinner. Angie hadn't come in with much expectation, but her mother was surprised by how familiar everything was. She was waiting for bannock and fish, or perhaps rabbit or deer meat. Despite the fact that the Perdit home did not have the rundown appearance of reserve houses she had seen in her childhood, Amanda was continuously anticipating any sign of difference between herself and people on the reservation. There was plenty to be had; in fact, more than everyone could eat. It seemed that Maggie Perdit had anticipated everyone to eat with the same stomachs as the boys of her house, Nelson having had two and half platefuls himself. Food was well appreciated in the Perdit home.

After dinner, Eli left the adults to talk and excused himself and Angie. It didn't don on him how awkward she might feel being led to his bedroom. It was like the Dairy Queen run all over again. Angie tried to remember it, how worried she was and how innocent it had all been. If she hesitated, she knew exactly what he would say. "_Don't trust me?"_ She didn't fully, but she was willing to try.

Eli didn't check for her reaction, he just went straight to his desk which faced the far wall. He was on a mission. Knowing that Angie was now a full two episodes behind, he had managed to find and download them onto his computer. It was crucial that she be up to speed before the season finale.

Upon entering the room, Angie immediately noticed that the room was really only half a bedroom. It was as if a line had been drawn down the centre: on the far right was Eli's bed, at the foot was the dresser, and across from the bed on the other wall was the desk. The other half only had a desk, the desk chair belonging to it had been moved to Eli's half.

"Yeah," Eli said to her, not taking his eyes off of the computer screen, "sometimes I think that my room reflects the spirit of Two-Face, minus the whole civic chaos and mass mayhem stuff."

"You shared a room with your brother?" she asked.

"Yup. First time that I've had a room to myself since I was born. I'm thinking I should start filling up the other side before someone else moves in."

"So your brother moved out for good?"

Eli went unusually quiet. He thought about pretending that he didn't hear her; he fiddled around with miscellaneous windows, but he wasn't the lying kind. "Yeah, looks that way."

"Did he go off to college or something?"

Eli brought up the movie player and started the first episode. "Ready when you are," he said.

It was obvious that he was avoiding the subject. Angie didn't mind. It was nice to know that he was human too.

They didn't really speak during the show, they only laughed. Occasionally Eli would give commentary like: "wait for it" or "listen to this" in anticipation of some great scenes. Their only interruption was twenty minutes in when little Gabby popped her head into the door way. Then she called out down the hall, "The door's open!" Eli went completely red in the face. His parents had sent her to spy on his conduct. He wheeled his chair over to his bed where he picked up a pillow and threw it at his sister. It only hit the door frame, and only after Gabby ran away giggling down the hallway.

Angie was only able to stay for the one episode – Amanda not feeling nearly as at home her daughter was. Fearing that she'd never get to see the end of the season, Eli offered to pick Angie up after school on Thursday. Although he would gladly drive the three hours to Port Angeles and back, they would probably miss the show. Instead, Eli got hold of a shuttle schedule to the resort that his dad worked at. All Angie had to do was bus to the airport and grab a free shuttle from there. Driving would be a little faster, but it was cheaper than a taxi cab and less painful than biking. Eli promised that if she still couldn't watch the show at her place next season, he'd pick her up from the Forks high school – it was a little closer at least. Angie figured that reason alone would be worth the transfer. Maybe this Forks thing wouldn't be so bad.


	5. Summer Days

Chapter Five: Summer Days

Once the exams were done with, summer could officially begin. This meant going straight to work for Eli and a month of boredom for Angie. Eli was rehired at the autoshop, but he still had evenings and Sundays off regularly. If he had a Saturday or a Monday off, he even got a weekend out of it. If he had a good part of the day off, he'd call up Angie and go into Forks to see her; but if it was a long day, Angie would try to meet him either at his house of by the waterfront, depending on who gave her a ride to La Push. Amanda was seldom able and willing to go out there during the week because of work, but sometimes Meredith Cooper would venture out that way, or Mr. McEwen, whose wife managed the old greasy spoon that Angie did eventually eat at.

On the fourth of July, Angie went with the Perdits to Port Angeles for the celebration. Gabby put washable tattoos of the star-spangled banner on Angie's arms and stuck flags in her ponytail to make her festive. Angie submitted to it. She didn't mind; she looked just the same as everyone else around. While Gabby and Matthew were captivated by waterfront games, Eli took it as an opportunity to split away from his family. Angie didn't mind that either.

They strolled along the pier, hotdogs in hand, just talking about nothing in particular, not even aware of the looks given to them by people who recognized either of them. Those who knew Angie, at least by sight if not by name, couldn't help but gawk at the bronze-skinned friend she'd obviously made. Those who knew Eli, and who knew him well, couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of him with a girl. Eli's friends were compelled to run up and embarrass him as much as possible, but they were friendly to Angie. There was Spence, who was a few inches shorter than Eli with a flatter nose, but always seemed to be bounding with energy. Joel was almost six feet tall with really dark eyes that looked almost black, but he was the quiet one of the group. Cameron had a paler complexion which was concealed by a bleach stained blue hoodie that he always wore and shoved his hands in the front pouch of. Cameron also brought his girlfriend Jennifer with him everywhere he went. She was quite a bit shorter than Angie and had round cheeks, but she had a perfect smile that gave her tiny dimples. Some of the guys ended up talking over Angie like she wasn't there, but Jennifer was really nice about including her and even translating some of the Quilayeute that was being thrown around in conversation. Spence was particularly guilty of this, and surprisingly, it was Joel who spoke up and told him to "be respectful of Angie's presence or else". After that brief altercation, Spence calmed down a bit and the six of them remained as a group for most of the day.

Eli and Angie didn't re-join the Perdit family until the fireworks display. The evening was cool as they sat with their feet dangling over the water. Angie didn't really notice anything at first but then she felt sudden warmth. Then she felt instantly conscious that Eli had put his arm around her shoulders. He was a naturally warm person, in all meanings of the word, but Angie didn't want to get the wrong impression any more so than she wanted to give it. Nonetheless, his warmth was intoxicating. She leaned back into the support of his arm and watched the display. Meanwhile, Eli practically had his breath held the whole time.

It was unfortunate that Forks was placed geographically closer to Port Angeles than La Push. Eli watched from the car as Angie walked up to her front door. He couldn't think of an excuse fast enough to stay back with her.

The tables were turned the following week when Amanda and Angie went to the reservation for the opening of the Quileute Days. Gabby was one of the dancers on stage, and she proudly showed off her traditional style dress. Mrs. Perdit helped one of her friends man a craft booth; she was making all sorts of intricate beadwork while answering questions from curious passers-by. Matthew stayed close to the wood carvers and was absolutely captivated when they started competing with one another. Eli had the day off and was hanging around with a group of his friends, at least until he spotted the Pochodas. He abandoned his friends just long enough to give Angie and her mother the lowdown on the activities of the day, after which they let Amanda chat up Maggie so that they could join the younger crowd. Before meeting up with Eli's friends, he had a few things that he wanted to bring up, so he took Angie the long way around the park.

"So, listen," he said, he needed to find a non-cheesy way to go about this.

"Yeah?"

"So, did you, like, ever go out with anyone, I mean, like, back in Angles?" he stammered.

"Um, I went to the winter dance with some guy named Chad, who ended up spending the whole dance with some girl named Meadow."

"Sounds like a keeper," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, pretty much. My last boyfriend was back in Everett."

This wasn't the direction Eli was hoping for. He wanted a topic starter, not a track record.

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Just wondering," he said dismissively. "I mean, you just don't seem like the type of girl to not have a boyfriend."

Angie stopped. "Oh. Do I seem needy or something?"

"No. No, it wasn't that." He spoke quickly to try and save himself. "I just…I don't know – maybe there's something wrong with white guys."

"They're jerks," Angie said quite directly.

Eli laughed.

"I'm serious. If I've learned anything from first and second hand experience, it's that most guys are dumb jerks. For example, guys _always_ complain that I don't get close enough, which we both know only means one thing, so they go find an easy girl and prove my point."

"So maybe all your white guys are assholes, but not all of us are jerks. Some of us aren't half bad."

Just as he was gaining confidence in controlling the conversation, his friends piled up on him. His best friend Spence threw his arms around his neck excitedly.

"Hey, E, you'll never guess who's been asking about you?" Spence didn't give him a chance to answer. "Shawna! She and her gal pals saw you with your paleface girl. No offence," he said to Angie before continuing to speak to Eli. "Guess she's changing her mind, eh?"

Angie's confusion was painted all over her face so Jennifer explained, as usual. "Eli's had a crush on Shawna for years. He's been asking her out like everyday since the fifth grade."

Even though Jennifer had meant to be good-natured with filling Angie in on the inside information, she didn't anticipate the strike she was actually making against Eli. In fact, he felt like he could have died right then and there.

"Poor guy's got a soft spot for the blue-eyed girls. I'd watch your back, Ange," Spence laughed.

"Yeah, like it's _just _Eli," Jennifer scoffed. "She looks like a white girl," she explained some more.

"Not as much as Cassidy," Cameron added. "Talk about white girl walking! Something's wrong when a Quileute goes blond."

Angie just smiled and tried to laugh along with them, but she was definitely feeling out of place. The whole blatant division of white and Quileute was making her uncomfortable. It just seemed to go against all of the politically correct inclusiveness that she had been raised with.

They didn't really mean anything by their comments. As a white girl, they simply figured that Angie was off limits to Eli anyways. He had already told them about her, how they met because his dad was the hired help. It seemed obvious to everyone, except Eli, that he was bound to a perpetual existence in the friend category – though Eli was slowly beginning to believe it too. He was caught in a conundrum. He didn't know if he should be asking for time to move faster or slower. With Angie going away for soccer camp, he either had to make a move quickly, which would be risky to pull off successfully given the current circumstances, or he'd have to wait and hope that these little embarrassing details would blow over and be forgotten.

August dragged on; at least it did for Eli Perdit. Changing oil and washing cars, boats, and lawnmowers wasn't that exciting, not when he had other things on his mind. September was just around the corner and Angie Pochoda would be back in Forks before the first. Eli would have liked to be there to greet her when she got back, but life had different plans in mind. His oldest sister, Sarah, was having a big birthday bash in conjunction with celebrating her beginning med-school. Eli's whole family was going to Seattle for the event, all except for his grandfather and Daniel. Aunts, uncles, and cousins were even going to be gathering around in Sarah's small two bedroom apartment. Eli knew that he had to go, obviously since he never got to see his sister except on holidays; it was important for him to be there. He was never particularly close to Sarah. She was always the studious one in the family, she even skipped the ninth grade, so Eli was used to her as being always behind a closed door studying. With her having been gone these past few years, it didn't really seem all that different to him. The part that would stand out, as it always did, would be Dan's absence. Even though Christmas and Easter were spent without him this past year, it was hard to get used to. Thanksgiving was the last time he saw his brother. Dan had already been removed from the house, but his mom still wanted to try to have a family meal. They all gathered at his grandfather's ranch, sitting quietly around the table, which was never done quietly before, watching Dan as he sat there distracted and irritable. Dinner was cut short when Matthew made a stupid joke at Eli's expense and Dan went into an aggressive outburst, knocking the whole table over. His dad and grandfather dragged him outside and no one was allowed to visit the ranch since. Eli felt bad for his grandfather. He was too good of a person to leave a family member out in the cold, but he didn't deserve to have his life revolve around a bad seed. Eli would feel less resentful if his brother would just go into a rehab in the city and get on with his life.

Sarah and her roommates somehow managed to squish everyone into their apartment, with a lot of help from their balcony, and every inch that wasn't taken up by a body was taken up by trays upon trays of food. Everyone had brought in a little something, which of course meant that they brought enough _something_ to feed an army.

It was very much the family reunion, and everyone was asking the same questions: _how are you? What are you doing now? What are your plans? _And the kids were all asked: _what grade are you in? Do you like school? What do you want to be when you grow up?_ Eli, being in-between the adult and the child category, was asked only two questions: _What are your plans for after graduation? Do you have a girlfriend yet?_ Eli had only one answer: _"I'm working on it."_

No one mentioned Daniel, at least not aloud. It was one of those things that Eli figured everyone knew about. His family wasn't great at keeping secrets, but everyone seemed to be alright with keeping the same secret. He noticed a few of his cousins that were missing from the party. One of his cousins from the reserve, Zachary, who was a year older than Eli, and no one spoke about him either. Randy and Holden, who Eli had gone camping with last summer, were also missing, but there's was a brief mention from Aunt Cora to Maggie Perdit that they would be returning to La Push. Eli found that strange since both Randy and Holden were born off-reserve. Why would they be coming back? After the party, Eli asked his mom in private if his cousins would be going to his school this year, but she simply said that she didn't think so and refused to talk about it anymore. He wished that his grandfather would have been there. He never treated Eli like some kid and brushed him off.

The moment he got home, Eli texted Angie, saying something about how they should get together for a welcome back party. Her only reply was _sure, lol_. There was only one day of freedom before the first day of school and Eli wasn't going to waste it. He picked her up early the next morning, told her to bring a sweater, and then took out to the docks. Joel's dad had a boat and so Joel invited his friends to come out on the water with his parents. Everyone came except for Spence whose family wanted to go into the city to buy him and his sister back-to-school clothes. Spence would have much rather gone boating.

Angie loved it. It was a beautiful day, the scenery was breathtaking, they even saw a few whales in the distance, but most of all she was feeling like she was starting to belong. They all asked her about her soccer camp and she gladly told them all about it. Half-jokingly, she asked how likely it was for her to get transferred to the La Push school. They laughed. So instead she told them that they would just have to come to Forks. Angie wasn't confident in her friend making skills; she at least needed Eli to help her get her foot in the door.

A little bit after noon hour, clouds started to roll in. That was the sign that their boating would come to a halt. Everyone put their sweaters and jackets on as they sailed to shore. Angie wasn't ready to go home yet, but she didn't want to say it that directly, so when she and Eli climbed into the car, she said, "Where to now?"

Eli smiled. He wasn't ready to take her back to Forks either, so he took back to his place. The moment Angie stepped foot inside the Perdit house, Gabby ran to her ready with a huge hug and Maggie automatically invited her to stay for dinner. She returned Gabby's hug, lifted her up a little, and then thanked Mrs. Perdit.

Angie and Eli crashed on the living room couch with Matthew and Gabby, watching a movie on TV – Gabby only half watching as she played with Angie's hair. Angie was still wearing her sweater. It was a custom made maroon sweater with her soccer camp's name and logo. On the shoulders was three embroidered letters: E.A.P. Eli had noticed it, but hadn't asked her about it, figuring that it was some sort of soccer slang. Gabby on the other hand, was not as dismissive.

"What's that mean?"

Angie tugged down on the sweater sleeve to see what the little girl was referring to. "Oh, that. My initials."

Eli looked at the lettering and tried to spell it out in his head. He understood the P.

"You go by your middle name?" he asked her.

"No. My middle name's Amanda, after my mom."

Eli looked puzzled. "So where does the E come from?"

"Evangeline, but no one ever calls me that."

"Why not? It's pretty," he said.

"It sounds old and stuffy," Angie argued.

"Don't worry," Eli said laughing at her frustration over the name, "I'll keep calling you Ange."

"You're the only one who does. You shortened my short name."

"How was I supposed to know that it was your short name?"

Matthew shushed them all for talking too much during the show. His seriousness made Eli and Angie laugh, but quietly.

"It's kinda weird," Eli said softly to her, "we have the same initials."

"Do we?"

"Yup."

He didn't know why, but for some reason that seemed significant to him. It was of those random things of commonality that somehow seemed meaningful.

Eli put his arm up along the back of the couch behind Angie. He was waiting to see if she'd back into him again like she did on the fourth of July. She didn't.

They were called to dinner.


	6. Back at the Ranch

Chapter Six: Back at the Ranch

Eli's abysmal failure was finally starting to bother him. Somehow he had expected that Angie would pick up on something if he emitted enough good vibes. He didn't want to flat out say the words but he was running out of options. He'd have to do it now the direct approach; he'd have to ask her out.

Now rather than paying attention during his classes, Eli was coming up with a plan, a dating plan. He jotted down lists of ideas on where to go, what to do, the pros and cons of each. He needed everything to be in place so that he could avoid the otherwise inevitable _"what'd you wanna do?" "I donno, what'd you wanna do?"_. He had seen many a poor fool crash and burn that way. Asking a girl out was only half the battle; it was the actual going out that mattered.

While his teacher was going over the learning expectations for History, Eli passed a hurried note to Jennifer:

"_Hypothetical: If you were a girl and you were into me, what would be our first date?"_

She wrote back: _"_If _I was a girl?"_

He crossed that part out of his opening statement and then passed the note back.

"_Hypothetical: if I was dating you, I'd make you take me up on the horse trails. At least while the weather's nice."_

It was brilliant. He slammed his hand down onto the desk in triumph unintentionally, and unintentionally the sound that his palm made was loud enough to get a few stares, even from the history teacher. The teacher then cleared his throat and continued on with the class outline. Eli resumed his planning. He struck a line under his last idea and made a new table. _Pros:_ it was affordable - his grandfather already owned the horses; it was seemingly spontaneous – she never needed to know that it wasn't originally his idea; it had a romantic quality to it – two of them alone on the trails, beautiful serene landscape, no intruding parents of siblings (at least he had to hope not. That would something else he'd have to be careful to organize); and there'd be no time constraints – they could go at their own pace, spend as little or as long as they needed to, go where they wanted, they're options were endless. The _con_ would be getting his grandfather's permission. Eli had never asked to take the horses off the ranch by himself before, but that didn't worry him much. It was after all Moses Perdit who first put ten year old Eli into a truck and told him to drive it. The more pressing concern was making this being the only reason to see his grandfather. He hadn't spoken to anyone residing in the ranch for quite some time now. Eli didn't know what he'd do if his grandfather wasn't the first person he'd come into contact with over there.

He biked straight to the ranch after school, determined, but also praying that Daniel wouldn't be the one to answer the door. Eli was in luck. The main door was open and through the screen door Eli could see his grandfather in the kitchen leaning over the stove. Eli hadn't knocked yet, but his grandfather seemed to know when someone was at the door. His dark eyes looked hazily towards the screen door.

"Eli?" he said in his calm yet straining voice.

To ensure that things started off on a good note, Eli avoided replying in English. Moses Perdit wasn't usually a very strict man, but he was determined that his grandchildren knew their ancestral language. To speak it now would be a sign of respect.

"Can I come in?" he said politely.

Moses Perdit gestured him in.

The screen door squeaked open. It felt stiff. Although most weather doors Eli knew of squeaked, his grandfather was usually on top of things like keeping hinges oiled regularly. With Daniel staying here, Eli figured that his grandfather should have got him to do it. Freeloading wasn't an aspect of the Perdit family value system, but how Dan was able to get away with it, Eli didn't even want to know.

The front door opened to the living room, but because the door was so far on the left side, the living room couldn't be seen until entering the house. The doorway aligned almost perfectly with the kitchen entrance, which when standing where Eli was now. It was all that Eli could see of the inside of the house. His grandfather's house had looked the same since Eli could remember; he could have sketched from memory the placement of the tacky green leather couch with its deeply grooved cushions, the knots on the legs of the handcrafted wooden coffee table that always kept the TV Guides well hidden on the small under-shelf, the threadbare brown chair that sat in the corner in front of the ceiling high totem pole, the entertainment stand had the same picture frames and animal-form knickknacks. The quality of the television had improved about two years ago when the old rabbit-eared one finally died out. Normally, everything was tidy, giving the narrow room a great deal of open floor space, but as Eli stepped inside, he saw that it was quite different. Pictures on the wall hung slanted, some even with cracks in the glass. Half eaten food rested on an array of dishes that covered the wooden coffee table as well as the floor surrounding it. Crumbs and wrappers were discarded everywhere. Clothes, some barely even intact, were in heaps on the floor. Right by the door were full sized shoes ripped in at least four pieces. The worse of it was lying right there on the couch, shirtless and in his underwear, breathing loudly in his sleep. The sight of it almost made Eli want to throw up. He kept is eyes forward and moved straight to the kitchen, muttering under his breath, "pathetic."

His grandfather was apparently unmoved by the current state of things, or at least he was able to hide his disgust too well.

"Hungry? Moses asked his grandson.

Eli looked at the eggs frying on the stove top. There must have been most of the carton there.

"No thanks," he replied.

"Your brother always did have a bottomless stomach. Much like you, eh?"

Eli shuddered at the comparison to his brother.

"Can barely keep up," Moses said jokingly. "So what brings you out this way?"

Eli tried to keep himself from the dark comments he was ready to make about Dan. It was difficult to suppress them. He tried to think of his reason for being there, about Angie and the date. It took a while before he was calm enough to keep focused.

"I have a favour to ask," he admitted.

Moses lowered his brow inquisitively.

Eli sighed and with only a few intakes of breath, told his grandfather his entire plan from beginning to end. The whole while he was telling his long-winded story, Moses stood there with his unchanging expression of complete calm and deep-thought. After Eli finished speaking, Eli was nearly out of breath. There was a long pause of silence.

"So is that okay?" Eli asked.

"I see no reason why you couldn't see this girl," Moses replied steadily.

"But the horses and the trailer?"

"You know where they are. Just don't break anything."

"A-Are you serious?" Eli stuttered.

"Of course I am. I don't want anything broken. I've enough to repair around here as it is, or haven't you noticed," Moses said with a twinkle in his eye and the faintest smirk in the corner of his mouth.

Eli broke out into his usual toothy smile. "Well, cool, I guess," he said in English.

Moses narrowed his eyes disapprovingly. Then the twinkle returned as the issue was dismissed.

"Now," he said to his grandson, "would _you_ do _me _a favour?"

Eli watched his grandfather's eyes for a hint of what was to come.

"Wake your brother. His eggs are getting cold."

The mention of Daniel deflated Eli all over again. What would he care if his brother got cold eggs, or even if he starved for that matter? Nonetheless, he slumped towards the living room to do as he was asked.

"Don't get too close. He's got a good arm on him," Moses called from the kitchen.

That just tempted Eli all the more to throw something at the sleeping thug. He even envisioned himself lifting the corner chair over his head – but he wouldn't have been able to even if he wanted to. Instead he just called out "hey" and nudged his arm.

Dan didn't wake with a start. He moaned and stretched lazily, scratching his chest and rubbing his eyes. He seemed groggy but peaceful – the same way he used to look for Saturday morning cartoons. Eli didn't buy it.

"Hey little brother," he said in a yawn.

"I'm just leaving," Eli said coldly.

He kicked a shoe out of his way and left. He hated his brother so badly at that moment that he was getting physically warm from it. It even distracted him when he got home. He hardly spoke a word at dinner or even look at anyone for that matter. It was bothering him so badly that he even forgot about setting up a date with Angie. It was her who ended up calling him that night. Eli was still so upset that his voice carried a harsh bitter tone that underlined every word he said. Knowing that Eli never acted so seriously around her, Angie figured that something was wrong and she wouldn't let him off the hook until he started confessing. It was a rough start, but after a long rant about his _stupid brother and this whole stupid situation_, Eli brought himself into a saddened state of disappointment, and finally, once the bulk of it was out, Eli was able to take a deep breath and become self-conscious again. He apologised profusely for moping over the phone but Angie did a good job of reassuring him that it was all okay.

"It's not like I haven't got my share of stuff in the closet, but you know that better than anyone," she said to him, referring to his encounter with her mom's former boyfriend.

It did make him feel a little better. At least he felt better until he got off the phone and realized that he needed to kick himself. He had her on the phone for an hour and a half and didn't even come close to asking her out. He was tempted to just call her back, but it didn't seem right. _"Oh, by the way, you wanna go out with me?"_ He'd have to let it go for tonight, but he wouldn't give up.


	7. The Date

Chapter Seven: The Date

Jennifer had told Cameron and so all of Eli's friends quickly found out his plans. The first thing in the morning, Eli was bombarded with questions about last night. Eli avoided answering for most of the day, but in gym class Spence accused him of having chickened out. Eli was forced to reassure him that it _was_ going to happen. He guaranteed it. Nonetheless, Spence swore that he'd have to see it to believe it, and needless to say, the others all felt the same way.

After school the five of them piled into Eli's room and waited eagerly as the phone in Eli's hand was dialling. It rang once. Twice. Thrice.

"_Hello?"_

Eli nearly choked, but he recovered and tried to keep his cool.

"Hey, Ange."

"_Hey, what's up?"_

"Not a whole lot," he said casually.

Spence rolled his eyes and whispered for him to get on with it. Joel hit him with a pillow – he knew that Eli didn't need to feel any more pressure than he was already under.

"So how's Forks?" Eli asked, ignoring those sitting on his bed.

Angie gave him casual detail about her classes and some of the people she sits beside in class and at lunch hour. All the while Spence pretended that he was literally dying of boredom. Finally there was a moment. Eli perked-up, ready to pounce on it.

"Hey, listen, Ange," he said confidently, while the group sitting on his bed perked-up too, "I was thinking, if you weren't going anything, you might want to come over on Saturday. We could take the horses up the trails, spend the say out there – just you want me…"

Spence was sitting hunched over with his elbows digging into his knees.

"_Oh," _Angie said in a bit of shock.

"If you want to," Eli said hurriedly, now getting nervous.

"_Yeah, well…"_ she hesitated to reply.

Eli was getting anxious.

"…_I've got a date on Saturday…"_

Eli laughed, "Yeah, with me."

She didn't laugh. _"Um, no. Sorry. I've got a real date."_

Eli's whole expression sank. "Wait. What? What do you mean? With who? Do I know the guy?"

At those words the four on the bed simultaneously gasped and cursed. Eli continued to ignore them.

"_I don't know. He's just this guy from school. He's in most of my classes. He asked me at lunch and Kimmy kinda answered for me so I'm kinda committed now."_

"Wait. So you didn't actually say yes?"

"_I guess not…"_

"So you're not obligated to do anything."

Angie gave a little laugh and sighed. _"I can't just blow him off like that."_

"It's only Wednesday," Eli argued, "that's plenty of notice."

"_Well, how about I come out for the morning and we can do whatever, and then I can be back here for the evening?"_

She sounded too sweet as she said it. Eli took the phone down from his ear and bit it in frustration. He knew exactly why she was doing it. She was too much of a people pleaser to say no to anyone. It may have sounded like a compromise to her, but Eli didn't want to have to share her. What was the point in that?

"_Eli? You still there?"_

He took the phone out of his mouth and put it back to his ear. "Yeah. Yeah, sure," he said defeatedly. "You want me to pick you up?"

"_I'll see if I can get a ride out first, save you some trouble."_

He wanted to yell at her to stop being so damn accommodating, but he didn't. He just ended the conversation as quickly as he could and then bit the phone again.

Angie tried to remain focused on school, but the whole first week was too slack to distract her for long. So far she only had a couple of reading assignments and some math recap homework. Even though the date had not yet taken place, Wyatt, the guy in question, was pretty much acting as if it already had. Wherever Angie was sitting, the burly blond-haired Wyatt would be sure to follow, bringing along with him his entire group to crash the table. Sometimes he'd just signal her over to where he was, but Angie was still too slow to respond for his liking. Angie really wasn't used to this whole _'group'_ dynamic. Unlike Eli's group of friends - who were exactly that, a few friends – Wyatt's group took up an entire cafeteria table on both benches. All of them, it turned out, were athletes in one way or another, so Angie at least had that in common with them, but that was about the extent of it by the looks of it. There was a pretty even number of boys and girls, unlike Eli's immediate group, and from what Angie had heard so far, there was usually inner dating and switching. Kimmy, a spunky brunette with purple-framed glasses who sat with Angie during French and Biology, was very keen on being in the _'in'_ and was basically walking the walk and talking the talk on Angie's behalf.

The one class that neither Wyatt nor Kimmy were in was Physics. In that class Angie was able to confide with a quiet, pixie-like girl, Lauren, or Lauren V as she was often referred to since there were four Lauren's in their grade alone. Lauren gave a more objective opinion about things and people. She was honest about the qualities of the teachers, unlike Kimmy who simply broke them into two categories: mean and not mean. Anyone who gave out homework and expected any amount of effort in class was placed in the _mean_ category.

Physics was the last class on Friday, thankfully. Angie took advantage of Lauren's presence to ask her if going out with Wyatt was a good idea or not.

Lauren simply shrugged, which made Angie sigh.

"He's loud," Lauren finally said, "but I guess people consider that being outgoing, you know, in a good way."

"Oh. Do you know anything about his track record?"

Lauren looked at her puzzled, but then it donned on her. "Um, from what I know, he's only had one serious girlfriend, but she moved away in the eighth grade. Other than that, it's the table girls," meaning that it was the internal date-and-switch that took place within their group of friends – the ones that took up an entire table. "I wouldn't let it bother you, though; they're just filler."

Angie smiled. It was such an inappropriate comment, but Lauren had said it with such an indifferent voice that it made it all the funnier. Once Angie began to laugh, Lauren did too – at least until the teacher asked them what could possibly be so funny about velocity.

Saturday morning, Angie met with Mr. McEwen who was willing to take her up to La Push. It was easiest for Eli to meet her at the info centre and take her up from there. He was already waiting with a large horse trailer hitched up to the white truck. Eli stood outside, patting the horses through the trailer openings. He looked like he belonged with them, what with his deerskin jacket trimmed with tassels along the back and down the sleeves, a similar coloured cowboy hat, and dark brown riding boots. He looked exactly the way that postcards depict the locals of the North-West. Angie couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. This was definitely not a side of Eli that she knew.

"Hey, cowboy," she called as she hopped out from Mr. McEwan's pickup truck.

"Hey there yourself," he replied, leaving the trailer and meeting her halfway. Angie ran at him with open arms and he gladly lifted her up in a big hug.

"You got my number if you need anything?" Mr. McEwen said, leaning out of the window.

Eli put her back on her feet so that she could reply. "Yeah. Thanks again!"

Mr. McEwen smiled and gave a wave as he turned the truck around.

Eli wasn't going to waste any time. He took Angie's hand, "Come on," and led her to his own vehicle. Angie followed. She didn't seem to mind that Eli held her hand, which was what he was most worried about. Maybe if they never mentioned her _supposed _date she'd just forget about it. It wasn't as though it wouldn't be hard to do.

When they got to the trails, Angie seemed eager to get going. Eli took his time preparing the horses, showing Angie how to do it, and getting her acquainted with the one that she would be riding. She was a mild-mannered mare, dark grey with white markings. She seemed indifferent about Angie, which was better than not taking to her at all.

"She's a good one for a beginner," Eli explained, "aren't you, Pititchu?"

Angie had him repeat the name to her so she could figure out how to say it. It wasn't very hard.

"It means moon in Quillayute. See the mark near her ribs there? Kind of crescent-like? My mom named her. She's sorta her horse. I mean, they're all my grandfather's, but we sorta adopt them."

"And that one's yours?" Angie asked, pointing to the second dusty-grey horse.

Eli laughed. "Nah. Mine's a bit of a spitfire. He rides hard."

Angie rolled her eyes and said, "Un huh, of course he does."

"I'm serious. My brother and I would race ours on open fields, really let them run. That's what he likes, lots of open space. He gets impatient with trail riding. This one, she's Matthew's. She's young, but she's getting better. Pititchu's her mother, so she knows how to be steady and obedient. Her name's Snook."

"And what does that mean in Quillayute?"

"Nothing. It's gibberish. No one has any idea where he got the name from, not even him. He's tried to change it now but you can't do that to a horse that young when she's still learning. It's for the best, anyway. Last time he wanted to call her Charmander. I don't know what Snook is, but it's better than that."

Angie had to agree; the mare didn't look like a Charmander.

"She can get a bit giddy every now and then, so I figured that I'd take her in case she decides to go do her own thing, but usually she's pretty good at following her mom's lead. I thought that it'd be a good pairing. You won't have to worry about Pititchu at all. Just go with it, she'll do all the rest."

Eli helped Angie mount Pititchu's saddle and then led her around a little to get her used to it while Snook stayed tied up to the trailer. Once Angie said that she felt good about it, he gave her the reins and mounted Snook himself. It took him a few more minutes to get Snook focused; she was feeling a little too playful already and wanted to romp around and explore. Eli had a gentleness about him as he corrected his horse. He was always rubbing her neck with praise and cooing her. He tried to keep side-by-side with Angie while going along the trails, but every now and then Snook would want to veer off to look at some animal or bush. Pititchu kept a steady pace, unconcerned with whatever distractions might present themselves. Eli kept reassuring Angie that it was alright if her horse went ahead; Pititchu knew the trails inside and out, she couldn't get lost if she tried. Eli was never more than a few feet behind. They were always able to talk to each other normally, never needing to shout to one another along the quiet trail, no matter what Snook decided to do.

Angie never thought of herself as being much of a nature-girl, especially nature purely involving trees – after all, that was one of her major complaints about her shack in Forks – but this was different. This wasn't dark and imprisoning, it was alive and peaceful. No wonder Eli declared himself an outdoorsman; he belonged here, just like this, exactly as he was. No one ever talks about men glowing, but he seemed to just radiate from underneath that cowboy hat. Every time Angie looked over her shoulder, Eli was right there with that faithful smile planted on his face. She knew that she could be anywhere with him and feel safe and comfortable. Eli just somehow felt like home to her, as crazy as it might sound.

He led her to a small creek where they both dismounted and let the horses drink and graze. Eli unpacked the saddles, handing Angie the rolled up picnic blanket and some packages of food. She set it up, laying everything out in the centre of the blanket. Eli tied the horses to a tree where they still had quite a bit of room roam around, and then he took off his boots and sprawled on the blanket.

"This is the second best spot," he declared.

"The second? Where's the first?"

"There's a nice spot off of the main beach. It's great on a really hot day – well, as long as the tourists don't find it."

"La Push gets a lot of tourists?"

"I think you saw the worst of it in July," he said. "That was fun, wasn't it? July, I mean."

"Yeah, it was. I think I'd've gone insane if you weren't willing to put up with me all the time."

"Oh, come on. You're easy to put up with. I mean, once you know how," he joked.

Angie threw a bag of snack-size potato chips at him, which he caught too firmly that it made the bag pop open. He went red in the face and they both laughed.

He looked down as he ate some of the chip pieces that landed on his clothes. He wasn't being serious because of the chips but because he had something more important on his mind. "Hey, Ange?"

"Mmhm?" she mumbled as she stuffed her mouth with one of Mrs. Perdit's sandwich halves.

"You…er…you…" He took a breath and looked up at her. He broke out into a smile. "You've got mayo all down your chin," he said with a laugh.

Angie put down her sandwich and grabbed a bag to rummage for a paper towel. Eli slid himself closer to her. He could do it, he thought. He could be smooth like in the movies, hold her face, wipe off the mayo with his thumb and then kiss her. It would be perfect – the setting, the timing, the mood – everything would be perfect. He leaned in closer but the paper towel beat him to it. That was it, moment gone! He rolled back onto his elbows. Not all hope was lost. They were still out here all alone in a very romantic way. He just had to think of something. Then it hit him, a raindrop. At first he felt dismayed, but then he realized that this could be exactly what he was waiting for. Sappy movies are always filled with couples getting caught in the rain. Look at the Fourth of July when they were watching the fireworks; it got colder and Angie got closer. That memory alone had been driving Eli crazy ever since.

Little by little the rain began to fall. When Angie felt it, she looked straight up at the sky and laughed. "Good old West Coast," she said.

"Yup," he replied.

They packed up and prepared the horses. The rainfall wasn't very heavy, but some of the trees acted more like funnels than umbrellas and with Angie only having the hood of her sweater, she seemed to be getting the worst of it. Eli pulled in close and put his hat on her head. She looked cute in it.

It wasn't long before they came to the end of the trail and saw the truck up ahead. Eli loaded the horses while Angie sat in the dry truck. Eli figured that they'd drop off the horses and the trailer first and then he'd see how long he could keep Angie at his place. He was now praying that Gabby and his mom would guilt her into staying for dinner. If that could be pulled off then he'd be set. What's-his-name would be long forgotten by then.

Eli pulled around his grandfather's house, close to the gate. Angie climbed out of the truck as Eli did to see if she could help him at all. Before she even had a chance to ask him, someone else offered.

"Hey, little brother. Need a hand?"

Angie knew who the guy was immediately. He looked more like Nelson Perdit than Eli did. He was taller than Eli, and more fit by the looks of him, but then again, Angie didn't really see Eli shirtless very often. Daniel Perdit stood there on the dirt driveway, shirtless and shoeless. She felt Eli tense up in an instant. His happy-go-lucky personality was sucked right out of him. Although she had never actually met Daniel before, Angie felt very uncomfortable about him.

"No. I got it," Eli said coldly.

Angie wasn't going to ask Eli now, but she stayed as close to him as possible. That might have been a mistake because the moment that Daniel saw her, he lit up with the same huge smile that Eli always had, but it didn't make Angie feel warm inside, it actually made her quiver.

"So this is your girl? You're doing good for yourself, I see."

"Look, I don't need your help, okay? Why don't you just go?" Eli snapped, still standing as stiff as ever.

Daniel's smile dropped instantly. He began to tense too; it was visible in every inch of him. It looked like he was ready to attack, or at least to look threatening, but Eli wasn't going to budge. Angie could see Daniel's chest rise with rapid inhalations. Eli's was doing the same. She could even hear Eli's heavy breathing.

Then Daniel shrugged his shoulders and rolled his head as if to shake it out of him. Eli stood rooted. Angie wasn't even sure if he had blinked yet. He wasn't going to back down, not in front of his brother. Daniel stepped in closer. Only Angie retreated. She cowered behind Eli and put her hand on his arm. Daniel kept coming, each step was assertively made. He put himself between Eli's truck and the horse trailer. He turned his back for only a second and Angie could hear a loud _clink_. He had unhitched the trailer, but both Eli and Angie were too focused to think about how Daniel had done it too quickly and too easily, as if with just a flick of his hand. He was already facing his brother again.

"Just go home," Daniel ordered.

Angie reached for Eli's hand and tried to pry his fist open. It was tough, but she managed it.

"Let's go," she whispered to him.

Eli loosened his grip and held her hand properly, but he didn't take his eyes off of his brother. Slowly he backed away, keeping himself between him and Angie as he walked her to the passenger side. He held her door open for her and slammed it shut once she was in. He got to his side, his eyes fixed on a single point straight ahead. He pulled out of the driveway, still tense and quiet. Angie put her hand on his peg to try to comfort him. Twenty minutes ago he would have been elated, but now he was still too busy trying to defuse himself to notice. He wasn't being responsive to anything.

Just before getting out to the main road, Eli pulled over onto the shoulder and jumped out of the truck. He'd had enough. Angie could hear him cursing and scuffing his feet across the ground. Angie knew what that was like. He probably wanted to be alone right now, just disappear entirely, but she felt like she needed to do something for him. She quietly got out of the truck and walked behind it to find him. He was still frustrated but he must have vented out most of his rage because he tried to force a smile when he saw her. Angie just walked right up to him and threw her arms around his middle. Eli wrapped his arms tightly around her above her shoulders. She felt him press himself close to her. His lips were flat against her forehead. Angie couldn't tell if he was kissing her or just being close. It didn't matter either way; whatever he needed to do to feel better was alright with her. After all, she knew that he'd do the same for her.

They stayed that way for a couple of minutes, slowly getting wetter from the falling rain. Finally, when his head was a little clearer, Eli told Angie that he was sorry.

She looked up at him and smiled. "It's okay," she said softly. "I'm just worried about you."

"I'm okay. I'm sorry if I got you worried about anything. I wanted today to go better than this," he said.

"Today was great. It still is."

That made him feel better.

"Hey," she said, "how about you don't worry about taking me back tonight."

Eli's heart couldn't have lifted any higher in that moment. He was speechless.

"We'll just go back to your place, you can kick back, and I can always give Mr. McEwen a call, or my mom or something."

All of Eli's hopes shattered right there. He bowed his head in defeat. "No, if you want to go back, I'll take you."

"It's okay –"

"No. Really."

It hurt even more because Angie hugged him again. She was so thankful to him.

Eli was quiet on the drive to Forks. He just couldn't figure out how he ended up here, delivering the girl of his dreams to some stupid white kid. He could just lay down now and die. How could she be so oblivious? He pulled up the Pochoda's long windy driveway, hidden by the forest of trees. It wasn't late yet, giving Angie plenty of time to get ready for her evening. Eli didn't want to think about it, but he couldn't help it.

Angie knew that Eli was caught up in his thoughts again. He wasn't beaming.

"Hey, Eli," she said before getting out, "today really was fun. You'll have to thank your grandfather for me."

"Yeah, sure," he said.

"And…and, listen, I don't really know where things are going right now. I mean, this thing with Wyatt, and tryouts are going to be happing at the end of the month. I just want to make sure that we can still do this – I mean, just hangout, like during the summer and before. I know it's a pain in the butt with me here in Forks…"

"Better than Port Angeles," he added.

"Yeah, at least, I hope so."

"Look, Ange," Eli said awkwardly.

"Yeah?"

"This Wyatt kid, if…if…you know you can call me, right?"

Angie smiled. She knew he was protective of her. She liked that. "Yeah, I know. But things will be okay. It's going to be a group of us heading into Angeles. A couple of parents are even going to be around for rides and stuff. Low key."

Eli nodded.

"Well, I'll call you, okay?" she said.

Eli nodded again.

Angie got inside her house and went straight to the living room window where she watched Eli's truck disappear through the trees. She promised herself that she'd try to see him on Sunday, and she'd make sure that he didn't have to drive her either. It was nicer to think about that than it was to think about this evening. She didn't really want to go, but she'd already agreed to it and people were expecting her. If she didn't go now, she'd probably never get another invitation and who knows, she might end up finishing high school in Forks and be stuck without a single friend in school because she didn't want to be social for one night. It was easier to just go through with it. Wyatt might even realize that she's not really the dating kind of girl. Angie had never really felt like much of a girlfriend. She wasn't really into the holding hands, kissy kind of thing, or spending hours on the phone _"what are you thinking about? I miss you, no, I miss you more"_ revolting garbage that she'd see every now and then. She could picture Kimmy in her place much more easily. Kimmy wasn't invited tonight, despite Angie's attempts. Nevertheless, Kimmy made Angie promise to give her all of the details come Monday morning. Angie hoped that there wouldn't be many details. Even her mom, Amanda, was already asking for details about the date and it hadn't even happened yet. She wanted to know what they were going to do, who was going to be there, what Wyatt was like, if Angie was going to see him again, when she'd have a chance to meet him, etc. Angie mostly responded with "I don't know" and tried to avoid the rest of the questions. She even tried to change the subject by telling her mom about going out with the horses and the beautiful trails they rode on, but Amanda summed it all up with "that's nice" and asked more questions about Wyatt.

Eli didn't leave Forks right away. He drove in a circle about a dozen times trying to decide if he was going back to La Push or on to Port Angeles. He kept checking the clock on the car radio and the clock on his phone, counting down the minutes. This Wyatt guy was supposed to get her at five o'clock, which meant that it would take about an hour before they'd have enough time to get there and Angie to realize that she needed to be rescued. He wanted to be close by, just in case. What if she called while he was at home? She would have to wait for him to drive all the way back out, and depending on how much of a scumbag this guy was, it couldn't possibly be right to make her wait that long. But no matter how Eli tried to justify to himself, he just couldn't bring himself to follow her. Even he began to realize that he was thinking like a crazy stalker person. He checked both clocks one last time: 4:49pm. He bit his lip and took the road to La Push. "Just let her go," he tried to tell himself. "She'll come back."

Wyatt came to pick Angie up right on time. He came to the door, well dressed for a casual event. He wore khaki pants and a light blue button up shirt. His sandy blond hair gelled in a way that made it look fluffy. Amanda answered the door and was very impressed by how polite he was. He introduced himself, shook her hand, told her where they were going for dinner, what the movie was, and what time he'd have Angie home by. His whole demeanour caught Angie off-guard. She didn't know him very well, but he usually just seemed like a jock to her. Maybe it was just because he was built like a basketball player, which Angie found even funnier when she found out that he was just an indoor volleyball player. As a girl who was used to running hard, hitting hard, and being hit hard, she had very little sympathy for a guy in his so-called sport – that was also supported by the fact that she had very little skill in volleyball herself. But it wasn't just the way that he looked, it was the way that he acted. He wasn't the centre of his group, but he was definitely a key player in it, and because of that he hardly ever seemed like his own person, he was just one part of the larger organism. Having him on his own was, to say the least, strange and even kind of unnatural. Angie, however, tried to remain open and positive.

"It's great that you could come," Wyatt said as they were walking back to his car.

"Well, thanks for inviting me," Angie replied politely.

He opened her door for her. It felt weird and artificial. It was in a kind of expecting way, like he wanted her to notice what he was doing. It wasn't like when Eli held open a door. He seemed to do it either absentmindedly, or as a _hurry up, slow-poke_ kind of humour about it. He didn't always open her door for her, which she liked. Somehow it made her feel like she had some independence, like she was free to go in and out of his truck all she wanted. But then there was this afternoon, the protective side of him, the one that wasn't _escorting_ her but keeping her safe.

Wyatt smiled at her as she slid into the passenger seat. It wasn't a full beaming smile. Again, it felt artificial to her. She said "thank you" to be polite and waited for him to get in the car.

"Sorry about your friend, Kimmy," he said as they drove on. "Maybe next time."

Angie just nodded her head.

"If you wanted, we do something after school on Friday. Without everyone, I mean. Kimmy could come if she wanted to. I don't know if she'd feel like a third wheel or anything, but you could tell her that'd it be cool," he offered.

"Yeah, sure."

It was nice of him to offer. She tried to sound appreciative, but now she was committing herself to a second date. At least it might be better with someone she knew…sort of…It would probably be too much for her to ask if someone else could tag along - Eli would be out of the question, but maybe Jennifer, or even Lauren Vargas, at least someone that she could speak to a little more confidently. Then again, maybe if Kimmy went with them, Wyatt would end up dating her instead. It's not as though Angie would be offended by that.

As much as she was anticipating dreading the evening, it wasn't all that bad. No one treated her awkwardly. In fact, they hardly treated her like anything at all. The group carried on like the single organism that it was, and Angie was like a fly on the wall in its presence. She didn't mind all that much. She could just sit and listen to what they all had to say, and she didn't feel like too much of an idiot for not being able to keep up. Wyatt didn't ignore her. He'd get swept up into whatever was going on at the time, but he'd always check up on her. He sat really close to her, even put his arm around her a few times. He asked her if she was enjoying her food, offered her the fries off of his plate, and would make small conversation with her, usually recapping what had already been said by the group as if she hadn't heard it at all. By the time that the group headed to the movie theatre, Wyatt had already taken Angie's hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Angie, of course, felt differently about it, but she didn't say anything. She didn't reciprocate anything either. He felt like a deadweight to her, so that's what she was for him, but he didn't seem to notice. After the movie, the night was finally over, everyone parted ways. She and Wyatt walked back to his car alone. He still held her hand.

"So was tonight okay? Was it what you expected?" he asked her.

"I didn't really know what to expect. It was fine. Everyone seemed nice," she said more optimistically than she felt.

"I wasn't sure if you were feeling left out or something."

"Well, everyone seems like they've been friends forever, so there's a bit I'm not in the loop with, I guess."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn't sure if you'd prefer being out with a group or alone. I was just testing the waters, I guess."

He seemed shier now. Was he nervous?

"Look, Wyatt. I'm gonna be upfront about this. I'm not really good at this whole dating thing."

He smiled. "There's really nothing to it. You did fine today, at least I think so."

They had reached his car. Angie stood against it waiting for Wyatt to unlock it, but he was still holding her hand and staring at her. Her discomfort skyrocketed. He was starting to lean in. She had no choice. She had to play the ditz. She turned and tapped on the car door, and perkily said, "Still locked," as if she hadn't noticed him trying to make a move. He let go of her, put the key in, and held the door open for her. She felt too awkward to let him steer the remainder of the date anymore, so she kept him talking about a safe subject, sports. She mentioned that she was thinking of signing up for the basketball team, at least until rugby tryouts in the spring. Wyatt tried to convince her to sign up for girls' volleyball. She said that she'd think about it.

When they pulled up the Pochoda driveway, Angie said goodnight and that she'd see him on Monday, and then happily hopped out of the car. Amanda tried to swarm her with questions the moment she walked through the door, but Angie just said that she was tired and went to her room. Today was a weird day. She flopped onto her bed.

Her mom knocked on her door. "Hey, kiddo," she said slowly opening it, "Eli called about an hour ago. I told him that you'd give him a call when you got in."

All that was going through Angie's mind was _"please don't ask me how it went"._ She was in luck. The first thing that Eli asked was how she was.

"Tired," she said.

"_No more late nights for you, then,"_ he said.

Angie laughed.

"_Anyways, I just wanted to make sure that everything was alright,"_ he said.

"How about you? You doing alright?"

"_Pfft. Me? I'm always good, you know that."_

Angie laughed again, and he did too.

"Hey, Eli?"

"_Yeah?"_

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"_I've got nothing on the go. Why?" _His hopefulness came through with every word.

"Just wondering, you know, in case I get bored or something."

"_Knowing you, you'll call me five minutes after you wake up."_

"Yeah, probably."

Eli laughed. He was glad that things were back to normal.


	8. Hobbits and Ice Cream

Chapter Eight: Hobbits and Ice Cream

At ten in the morning there was a knock on the door. Amanda and her daughter were sitting around the kitchen table, still in pyjamas.

"You expecting anyone?" they asked one another.

Amanda got up to answer the door, thinking that it might be Meredith Cooper, the landlady. Angie thought about getting up too, but her motivation was lacking in the morning. So she sat and listened as her mother let out a surprised "Oh. Hi." Obviously it wasn't someone selling something because Amanda had invited whoever it was inside.

Sure enough, who came through the kitchen doorway other than Eli, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Angie could tell that he was trying not to laugh at seeing her still in her pyjamas. She wasn't the least bit self-conscious of her Elmo pants in front of Eli; the worst he could do was laugh at her, but he'd do that anyway.

"Don't you believe in sleeping-in on Sundays?" she asked him point-blank.

Eli laughed, as she expected him to. "Coming from a family of born and raised ranchers? What is this thing you call _sleeping-in_? Besides," he said, "you'd probably call me in about five minutes anyway."

"Maybe ten," she said.

"So, Eli," Amanda said, actually getting his name right these days, "you have breakfast yet?"

Eli eyed the kitchen table and the plates of eggs, sausages, hash browns and toast. "Yeah, but I could be talked into a second helping."

"Second breakfast?" Angie asked him as he dished up the plate that Amanda had brought him.

"Hey, it's not just for hobbits," he said.

Angie laughed. She was glad that they were thinking the same thing.

"So what's new with you, Eli? How's school?" Amanda asked just to make conversation.

"You know, same old stuff," he replied in-between stuffing his face simultaneously with a fork full of food and a piece of toast.

"How many years do you have left?"

"This is it," he said after a gulp of orange juice. "Senior year. Always keeping one step ahead of Ange, here."

"Wow, already? Congratulations. You thought about what you're going to do after?"

"Yeah, there's a few colleges and a couple of uni's that I'm thinking of applying to. So far I'm thinking of going into architecture."

"Architecture?"

"Yeah. I think it's something that I'd like, something I could really go places with. It means that I work with my hands, with my head, technology, everything, whereas if I just pick one of the trades, I'm limited. I'm still interested in the rest of it. My dad's got me into the whole building and fixing things thing, but I'd like to do a little more. Besides, if I get the four year degree out of the way, I still have time to get however many two year certificates I want as I go."

"You probably need some pretty competitive grades to get into a program like that, though," Amanda said.

"Mom," Angie interrupted. She wasn't entirely sure if her mother was being condescending or not, but she didn't want Eli to be put down when he obviously didn't deserve to be. "Eli's all every honours class his school offers and aces them all."

"Oh, well then you shouldn't have any problem then." Amanda then went on about how Angie hadn't decided on anything yet, other than just playing soccer for the rest of her life, which really wasn't a practical idea, and that she was running out of time to make these big decisions.

To which Angie replied, "Gee, thanks, Mom."

"Wyatt's in your year, isn't he?" she asked her daughter.

Caught off guard by Wyatt's sudden presence in the conversation, Angie muttered, "Yeah, he is."

"Has he thought about what he's going to do?"

"I don't know."

"Don't you two talk?"

"Not really."

Amanda scoffed. Angie didn't really want to keep the conversation going in this direction, and by the look on Eli's face, he was ready for it to end too.

"You two have a fight or something?" Amanda asked in a parenting type way that really didn't suit her.

"No. We just don't really know each other. Come on, Mom, I've been at that school one week. I don't really know anyone."

"So are you going to see him again?"

"I kinda have to. We have History together on Monday."

Eli found Angie's cynicism funny. Amanda didn't. He decided to break up the cheery atmosphere by thanking Amanda for the eggs as he gathered up empty plates. This gave Angie a good enough diversion to slip away to her room without having to excuse herself. She got dressed and when she came back out she found that Eli had just finished doing the dishes by hand.

"She put you to work?"

"No, I offered," he said.

"Careful or she might try to adopt you," Angie warned.

"What? Wyatt can't do dishes?"

Angie tried not to laugh. She may have agreed with him, but she didn't have anything against Wyatt as a person to promote teasing behind his back. In fact, throughout the day she found herself defending him a little every now and then.

"Hey, he is a nice guy," she'd say. "I think it's just me that makes the whole thing weird. I'm not one of those head-over-heels kinda girls."

"It sounds pointless to me then," Eli said as they walked around Forks, going nowhere in particular. "Obviously you're not in to the guy. Strike him off your list. Why keep the deadweight around?" Eli argued.

"Yeah, well, I'm never in to anyone. And what list? Since when do I have a list?"

"You know what I mean."

"It's just kinda the thing to do, isn't? I mean, teenagers date. Soon we'll be in college, and by the time that's done everyone's going to be asking us when we're getting married and all that crap. I think my mom's made me too numb to it. I'm sure that if I was a normal person, I'd have fallen in love and been broken hearted about eight times by now, just like everyone else. It's just not gonna happen for me."

"You don't honestly think that, do you?"

"What? You don't believe me?"

"You're not numb. I've seen you like things. Heck, I've seen you love things. Off the top of my head," he said raising his open hand to list off each item, "soccer, soccer camp, _Carl Fallen_, ice cream, and me."

Angie laughed. "You got beat out by ice cream," she pointed out.

Eli sighed, "Yeah. Wouldn't be the first time."

"Aw," she said playfully, "well, maybe we could put _Carl_ as fifth. I mean, without you I don't get _Carl_."

"That's true. When you finally get cable I'm going to be screwed. You'll have nothing to do with me."

"No, I'm sure I'll owe you, and then you'll be dropping by my place every week."

"It would be easier. Then I'd only have to make two trips instead of four."

"See, it's not just for _Carl_, I use you for transportation too."

"Great, does that go before or after me?"

"What?"

"In the list."

"Oh that's a hard one. Hmm. Car is sixth. _Carl_ is fifth. You can still be fourth," she said.

"Damn you ice cream. Why must you be so delicious and unbeatable?"

"It's a force of nature. No one can beat it."

Eli bowed his head in shame; then they both laughed.

"So where am I?" Angie asked him.

"Right there," he replied.

"No, I mean in your list."

"My list? I have a list? That's not fair."

"How is that not fair?"

"Because I don't have soccer to take up the best spots. You automatically move up too many spaces. I can't let that happen, or at least I can't tell you about it, because then it'll go to your head and then who knows how many other things are going to be put before me. You'll be like, _'Eli, I like dental floss more than you'_," he said, making her laugh.

"Dental floss?"

"Yeah. Or that guy," he said pointing to an old man shuffling down the opposite side of the road.

"Who? Terrance? He's a sweetheart," she said.

"You seriously know that guy?" Eli said in amazement.

Angie laughed. "No. I have no idea who that is. But I've apparently just named him Terrance."

Eli threw his arm around her shoulders to reel her in order to tickle her. Angie screamed playfully, trying to fight him off. They didn't really think anything of it, but apparently others did.

"Hey!"

They stopped fooling around to see a tall blond boy darting out of a shop. He must have seen them through the window. Two of the guys and one of the girls that Angie recognized from 'the table' followed behind him.

"Why don't you get your hands off of her?" the blond boy ordered.

Eli put his hands in front of him to show that he wasn't hurting anyone. He didn't want any trouble. He knew that he was on their turf.

"Wyatt, it's okay," Angie said, stepping forward to be between Eli and the group.

"Is this guy bothering you?" he asked her.

"No, Wyatt, Eli's a friend. We're friends. He wasn't hurting me. It was just a joke."

Wyatt was close enough to put his arm around Angie, and he did. He stood facing Eli, who was now alone on his side.

"Want me to take you home?" he asked her.

Angie weaseled her way out from under his arm and faced him.

"Eli can take me, thanks," she said.

Then a man came out of one of the shops. Angie hadn't noticed before, but a lot of people were staring now. "You there!" the man said, calling to Eli. "Don't _you_ start stirring things up. On _our_ side, you follow _our_ rules. If you don't have any business here, go on back to your own people."

Wyatt put his arm back around Angie.

Eli knew that he hadn't done anything wrong – nothing except get too close to a white girl. He backed down. It wasn't worth it. There was nothing he could do that wouldn't get him in trouble.

Angie saw Eli turn and walk off. She weaseled her way out again and ran to him. She wasn't going to let him go by himself, and she definitely wasn't going to go anywhere with Wyatt after acting like that. When she caught up with him, she took his arm and they walked back together.

"So that's Wyatt, huh?" Eli said when they were a safe distance away.

"Unfortunately. Look, I am so sorry. I don't know what just happened back there, but it was complete bull."

Eli huffed. "It happens."

"You didn't do anything. That was so stupid."

"You don't get it, do you?" he said harsher than he meant to. "You're a white girl, Ange, and I'm a rez kid."

"What is this, the fifties?"

"I don't know what things are like where you're from, but that means something here, okay?"

"It's racist. File a complaint. Human rights."

Eli snickered at the idea. It was better just to brush it off. "Don't worry about it," he said a little lighter.

"Eli," Angie said, still holding tightly onto his arm, "I don't care what anyone says, you're better than ice cream."

Eli laughed. "Yeah? You too."


	9. Wyatt

Chapter Nine: Wyatt

Angie refused to have anything do to with Wyatt since the embarrassing outbreak with Eli. She ignored him all through History, no matter how many notes he tried to pass her. When the bell rang, she was quick to grab her things and get to her next class before he could catch her. During the break, Angie ducked into the library and started on some homework. Kimmy had come in with her, though she was not the least bit interested in doing homework. She spent the whole time quizzing Angie about the date and why she was determined to avoid Wyatt so badly. Angie kept her answers short and tried to just pay attention to the History book chapter. Wyatt had gym during the same block, but because the boys and girls were technically in separate classes, Angie hoped that she'd avoid having to associate with him. They'd have to run together, as they always did at the beginning of class, but she knew that she could outrun him for the duration of it, and she did. The classes were split up just as Angie hoped, too. The teachers liked to utilize the field as much as possible because during the winter months everyone would be cooped up inside, and the winters were long. The girls played softball on one side of the field while the boys did their softball unit on the other.

She couldn't avoid him forever though. In fact, after hitting the ball around a few times, Angie forgot about Wyatt for a bit, at least until she bumped into him waiting outside of the girls' change room. It was only minutes until the lunch bell. Angie couldn't think of an excuse that required her to get out quickly.

"Hey, Angie," he said. He looked sad. He had been avoiding his group since the morning. "I know you're mad at me."

"Mad at you?" Angie repeated in disbelief. "That was the most pigheaded display of bigoted ignorance I'd ever seen!" She had been practicing this line in her head for several hours. "Eli's my friend, and a decent human being! You can't honestly tell me that you thought that he was doing something wrong?"

Wyatt's face flushed and he sunk his head down lower. "Angie, I didn't know what to think. I just saw this guy hovering over you. I get outside and hear you telling him to get off."

"Everyone says that when they're being tickled. I think if I was being attacked I would have been saying something else."

Wyatt was silent.

Angie huffed a breath.

"Look, Angie," he finally said, "I know that it sounds bad no matter what way you look at it. I can't really have an excuse for it. It's just…I know that you're new around here. The last thing I'd want is for some idiot to take advantage of you. Those kids out on La Push, they're not all good people. Some of them are into things, you know? They've got their own set of gangs and a lot of them go looking for trouble. I'm not saying that they all do, it's just, you never know, right? The cops around here pick up enough guys that come stumbling in from the reserve. Just ask Kevin Hill's dad."

Angie couldn't help but think of Daniel Perdit. She still didn't quite understand what his issue was, but Eli always left her with the impression that he was deep into drugs before being sent to the ranch. But that had nothing to do with where he lived or the colour of his skin. The Perdits were wonderful people. Eli was nothing like his brother and he never would be. Bad apples could come from anywhere, and to suggest that the worst came from the reserve was flat out racist.

"You could have just asked," Angie finally said. "You didn't have to start threatening people."

"I didn't threaten anyone."

"You show up with a group of guys, and you think he's linked to a gang?"

"I never said I thought he was in a gang."

"But he was up to no good just because he was there, right?"

"Angie. Angie, good girls don't hang around with his kind, okay?"

"His kind?" Angie repeated, but Wyatt spoke over her.

"When people see a girl like you with them, something doesn't add up. I know that you mean well, I do, I just don't want to see you get hurt, by him or anybody," Wyatt concluded.

"This is so stupid."

"I'm sorry. I promise you it will never happen again. If you say that he's your friend and he's cool, then fine. I never wanted to upset you."

"It's not me you should be apologizing to."

He looked up at her, meeting her eyes. "What can I do to make it up to you? Just name it. I swear, I'll do anything."

Eli was also avoided talking about Sunday with anyone. They all asked him how the trail riding went, and he gladly answered that it went well, but any mention of the events that took place after was strictly off limits. He wasn't necessarily still feeling victimised, after all, Angie was closer to being his than Wyatt's by the end of the day, but nonetheless Eli hated knowing why it happened. It wasn't just jealously that prompted Wyatt to speak out. Eli was a rez kid; Angie wasn't. Eli looked like a rez kid; Angie didn't. It was starting to make him think that maybe he was going after a lost cause.

As most days, Eli was followed home by Spence, Joel, Cameron and Jennifer. On route, Cameron's bike chain gave out so they ended up walking the rest of the way. Eli didn't live very far from school, and in either case, Eli's house was the better place to be to do a bike repair. The group of them scoured through the Perdit garage, looking for a spare chain, but also just goofing off, which made the whole thing take longer than it needed to.

A car pulled up in front of Eli's house. Everyone stopped at looked at it, but no one recognized it. Nelson Perdit was at work, and Maggie Perdit had taken Gabby to dance class, and Matthew went along for the ride since Eli hadn't been home yet. The driver stepped out of the car, pale-skinned and yellow-haired. What _the_ _hell_ was _he_ doing here? Eli marched out of the garage. This kid was on _his_ turf now.

"What do _you_ want?" Eli demanded.

Wyatt stopped. "Hi. I just want to talk, if that's okay."

Eli looked back at the car. Wyatt hadn't come alone. When Eli recognized who it was in the passenger seat, he knew all too well why Wyatt was here. Eli didn't say anything. He just nodded his head. The sooner this was over with, the better. Eli's friends were slowly coming out to see what was going on. Eli watched as Wyatt kept glancing back at them. He hoped that the blond boy felt intimidated.

"Look. There was a misunderstanding yesterday. Things got out of hand. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions."

Eli approached casually. He smiled and waved to Angie in the car. Then he turned his attention back to Wyatt.

"Look. Cut the crap," Eli said to him.

"If she wants me to do this, then so be it," Wyatt said.

"You think this is going work? You come here and Angie's going to fall head-over-heels for you?" Eli said with a little laugh. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into here. Remember that I came here before you, alright? And I'm the one who's going to be around after you. Do yourself a favour; don't waste your time, or hers."

"You like her or something? Funny, I don't remember her telling me that she's _your_ girlfriend. Do yourself a favour, make some weekend plans with your little friends here, 'cause Angie's book-up this weekend."

Eli smiled and held out his hand. Wyatt was hesitant but shook it. Despite what they actually said to each other, the point was to put on the display for Angie.

"We understand each other then," Eli said.

"I guess we do."

"Good. Don't ever come here again."

"Trust me, I won't. But neither will she."

With that Wyatt broke the handshake and walked back to the car.

Eli waved to Angie one more time and watched them pull away.

"What the hell was that?" Cameron blurted out.

"The asshole who thinks he's good enough for Ange," Eli replied, still watching the road where the car had last been seen.

"So that's the guy," Spence said, smacking his fist into the palm of his hand.

"Eli, don't do anything stupid," Jennifer said.

Eli laughed. "Trust me, I don't have to. This guy's going to take care of that all by himself. And when he does, who's she going to turn to?"

"That doesn't sound conceited at all," Jennifer said sarcastically. "Why don't you just tell her already?"

Spence shushed her, explaining that it just doesn't work like that.

"But is this chick worth it, man? I mean, I like Angie and all, but all she does is drive you crazy," Cameron added afterwards, to which Jennifer slapped his shoulder.

"Won't know 'till you try, right?" Joel said insightfully.

Eli smiled and fist-bumped him. He wasn't going to lose Angie, not to this blond pansy.

Eli waited until after dinner to call Angie, just in case Wyatt had stuck around too long. He tried very hard to repress the _"what the hell did you bring him here for?"_ that had been inside of him all evening. When he heard her voice on the other end, however, he calmed down.

The first thing she said was, "Please don't be mad at me."

"Mad at you?" Eli repeated, caught off-guard. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because I had no right to have him go to La Push, to your house."

"Yeah, I was kinda wondering about that," Eli said mildly.

"Part of me didn't think he'd actually do it. I thought his ego might have been too big. But he did."

"So you told him to come?"

"He just kept apologizing to me, and I was so furious at him. I knew that apologizing to me was pointless. He was a jerkface to you more than anyone. He wanted to do something. It was the only thing I could really think of. You can call me an idiot if you want," she said.

"Well that depends," Eli said. "Did you ditch him yet?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"He wants to get together on Friday, without his herd. I thought it'd be fairer to judge him alone."

"You're seeing him?"

"He asked if I'd be more comfortable if you were there. He said he'd feel weird about it, but if I wanted it, he'd be cool with it."

"_What a load of crap!"_ Eli screamed in his head. All he actually said was, "Ah."

"I figured that would just be awkward for everyone."

"Just a bit. So you're not gonna go?" he asked.

"I said I would. But, Eli, you don't have to do anything. It's okay."

"_Okay? It couldn't be further from okay!"_ he thought. "Hey, Ange, you might want to think about this for a second."

Angie sighed in frustration. "I know. I've been thinking all day. It's just stupid no matter which way I think about it."

"It sounds stupid no matter how you say it. Just tell him to get lost and leave it at that. What do you owe the guy?"

"I did call him a pigheaded bigot," she confessed.

Eli warmed a little inside. He knew that she was a smart girl. "Maybe he is," he said.

"He said that he was sorry."

"_So do convicted felons,"_ he thought.

"I'll give him a chance and if he's a complete freakshow then I'm crossing him off the list," she said.

Eli just hoped that she would honour that statement. If she was like those girls who would swear up and down that they could _change_ whatever idiot they were with, Angie would have her hands full. He had some faith in her that she would realize that this Wyatt guy was no good and move on, but Eli's fear was that the only reason she flipped out was because of how he treated him. Angie had told him before that she often just went with the flow of things. If it didn't hurt anyone, she seemed indifferent. If that was the case, Eli would make sure that he had a few hits coming. If Angie couldn't pull it off on her own, Eli was quite ready to start to sabotage things. It might even be fun.

Wyatt treaded lightly around Angie from Tuesday onwards. He didn't avoid her, but he made sure that he only approached her when he was alone, which for this week meant that he often ditched his group. Angie didn't ignore him, but she wasn't ready to be friendly either. She explained the whole thing about Wyatt to Lauren Vargas who listened attentively during Physics.

"So, what do you think?"

Lauren took in a contemplative breath. "Well, it was a jerk thing for him to do. But Wyatt isn't a cruel person, at least not as long as I've known him – not that I know him well. It sounds like he's serious about you. I mean, his group usually acts like everyone is interchangeable, but I think it sounds like he was jealous. He hasn't been serious with anyone, and maybe he wants to be."

Angie listened. Lauren usually gave good objective advice.

"But the question is, your friend," Lauren said.

"Eli? What about him?"

"Is it something you can juggle or is this an either or thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Wyatt feels threatened by your friend. What does he feel?"

"I don't know if it's fair to say that Eli hates him, but pretty close anyway. Given his first impression of him, I don't blame him."

"Okay. But is he _just_ a friend?"

"Eli's _not_ my boyfriend."

"And you like Wyatt, right?"

"I wouldn't say that I _like_ him, I just think that if he wants to prove himself this badly, then I should probably give him a chance."

"Well, if you're just testing the waters, then you've got nothing to worry about."

"Would you date him?" Angie asked.

"Wyatt? I have the feeling that we wouldn't get along that way. Some people just weren't meant to mesh well, I guess."

So Angie eased up. She was going to Wyatt a second chance. But having Eli around really wasn't helping her motivation. She knew that he had the right to dislike Wyatt, but if Angie was going to put in an honest effort, she didn't need Eli's trash talking. She felt guilty about it, but she did what she thought was best given the situation; she had to limit her contact with Eli, at least until Friday. It wasn't easy to do since Eli called her everyday after school. She could avoid the first call by saying that she just got in the door, or that she had to help her mom with something, but after a while he'd call back when she didn't. She tried to keep the conversations short, and above all else, avoid talking about Wyatt at all. A couple of times, Angie just avoided answering the phone at all. She knew that it wasn't fair, but Friday would come soon enough, and then this whole thing could be put behind them.

Friday came. Angie didn't know what to expect but she wasn't going to go out of her way for it. Wyatt must have expected it because he kept his jeans and t-shirt, too. He slipped a note to Angie during class to meet him at his car after school, which must have meant that he didn't expect to see Angie during the lunch hour. Sure enough, he resumed his place at the same cafeteria table. He nodded in her direction, but he didn't gesture her over as he had before.

"He's probably just smoothing things over with everyone, you know?" Kimmy said to Angie as they sat down at an emptier table.

Angie looked away. It didn't matter what he was doing.

"So do you want me to come with tonight?" Kimmy asked.

Angie shrugged. "Do you want to?"

"Might be awkward, I mean, you're in the whole make-up phase, right? It's probably better for you to be alone, right?"

"It's technically up to him," Angie replied indifferently.

"How about I come with you to the car, then when you know what's up, you can decide. I'll be like your wingman – that's what they call it, right? Wingman? The sidekick person? Well, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, sure," Angie said, picking through her salad but not really eating it.

The last block went too quickly. Angie had barely been paying attention to anything other than the clock on the wall. She looked down at her note pages. She barely had half a page of scattered notes, and it looked like everyone else had at least three pages full. She sighed. Why couldn't this whole day just end and be tomorrow already?

The bell rang. Angie sluggishly closed up her books and stacked them on top of one another with her pencil case. She dawdled to her locker and took her time sorting out what she needed to take home for the weekend. Kimmy had already run to her locker and back to Angie's before she was done. Kimmy was so excited that she was practically dancing on the spot. She kept chirping away, about what exactly Angie was only half-listening to. They walked out of the school, Angie dragging her feet and Kimmy in a near skip. Wyatt was exactly where he said he'd be, in the student parking lot, waiting against his sporty silver car. It was hard to read his face. He didn't seem the same type of happy nervousness when he had first arrived at Angie's house, he looked very self-conscious and a little forlorn.

"Hey," Angie said first.

"Hey," he answered.

"So, I hope you don't mind," Kimmy started saying cheerily right away, "but as Angie's best girl friend, I'm making it my responsibility to see what exactly is going on, 'kay?"

Wyatt looked from Kimmy to Angie. He smirked. "Okay."

"So, what's the date plan?" she asked, trying to be serious but still sounding giddy.

"I don't know about _date_," Wyatt said. "We're just talking, right?" he asked Angie who nodded her head. "Just over to Pacific, then?"

"Sure," Angie said with another quick nod.

"Cool. Well, sounds like you two have it figured out then," she said with a wink to Angie.

"Yeah," Angie said softly.

"Hey, Kimmy?" Wyatt said. "Saturday Kevin Hill's having his birthday. You interested in going?"

Kimmy's mouth fell open, and her eyes grew large enough to fill her lenses. "Are you serious?"

"Angie has your address, right?" he asked.

Kimmy nodded her head excitedly, and Angie nodded a couple of times to affirm that yes she did.

"Cool, maybe I'll see you there," he said.

Kimmy's heart must have been doing summersaults. She was twice as giddy now. She was actually skipping away to her mother's car.

Wyatt looked at Angie and Angie looked at him. He opened the passenger door for her.

When he got in the driver's side, Angie said, "That was nice of you to invite her. Is Kevin going to be cool with it?"

Wyatt smiled. "Yeah, it's cool. He doesn't really care who's going to be there, actually, he's just happy that it's a party."

"So is she still invited if I don't go?"

Wyatt looked over at her quickly.

"I guess so. Means that my plan kinda backfired, but I invited her, so yeah, I won't take that back," he said honestly.

"Just checking," she said.

"You don't wanna go?"

"I don't know yet," she said.

Wyatt nodded his head. He knew what that meant.

Pacific Pizza was a low key restaurant. It wasn't just a take-out place so Wyatt and Angie could sit down, but it wasn't a fancy place so it didn't feel like a date. It was a hangout place, just what they needed.

They sat down together awkwardly, not knowing where to start. The thing that they needed to discuss was the one thing that neither of them wanted to bring up. They avoided it by looking over the menu and making pointless small talk until their order had been taken. To make matters worse, Angie's phone had rung twice already. Thankfully it was on vibrate, but that didn't make it any less noticeable. She couldn't answer it. First of all, it would be rude. Secondly, she didn't want to tell Eli that she was out with Wyatt again, not yet.

She had to speak. The silence was becoming burdensome. As she opened her mouth, not even entirely sure of what she was going to say, Wyatt blurted out, "I like you, Angie."

She closed her mouth and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I know you think that I'm an idiot," he continued, "and I probably am. I know that I don't act right around you, or say the best things…I just – I just kind of react, I guess. Take Saturday, for example, I had no idea what I was doing. I thought meeting with your mom went well, and I guess I thought that things were cool. But I guess that I was wrong."

"It wasn't Saturday that was the problem," she said. "I just don't know what to expect from you. I mean, you act one way around your friends, another around me, and then there was that whole fiasco on Sunday. If that's who you are, then this isn't going to work."

"That's not who I am. I told you that he could come, didn't I?"

"Yes, I know. And I know what you did for Kimmy was for my benefit, too. Can I just ask, what is it that you want from me exactly?" she asked directly.

Wyatt looked frozen for a moment. "Nothing. What I mean is, I don't expect anything from you. You not hating me would be nice."

"You not hating my friends would be nice too."

Wyatt bowed his head.

"Sorry," Angie said. She wasn't trying to make him feel guilty.

"No, you're right. I'm not used to sharing girls – I mean, ones that I actually like, and it's been awhile since I've been with a girl that isn't already in the group. Even Hannah was just one of us."

"She's the one that moved, right?"

Wyatt nodded his head. "She was practically my best friend. She hadn't spent a week in San Diego before she said that she had a new boyfriend. It kinda hit me hard. I know that we were just kids, but I kinda took it more seriously than that. Never really thought twice about anyone else really, until you showed up. You're not like other girls. Maybe it's just because you're a soccer player, I dunno, but, you're a hard hitter, I can tell. You play hard, you work hard, and even the fact that you're friends with one of the Indians, and you don't care what people think…What I'm trying to say is, you make a statement, and I don't even think that you try, you just do. I'm not like that. I'd like to be. I just don't know how."

That was more than Angie was ready to hear. She had extra time to think about what she was going to say because the server laid the pizza tray down in front of them. She wasn't feeling all that hungry right now. They both thanked the server and stared at each other, waiting for things to get less awkward. Angie's phone vibrated again. It was a text – from Eli. When she checked it, Wyatt dished up a slice for each of them, but neither of them touched it yet.

"Wyatt, I don't get serious about people," she confessed. "I'm not going to be like those high school couples who obsess about each other. You're right, I do play hard, but I don't know if you and I are on the same team."

He smiled at the sport reference. "Let me know when tryouts are. You never know, I must just surprise you."

Angie smirked a little. It was much easier to deal with him on a sportsman level, even if he was just a volleyball player. She picked at the toppings on her pizza and ate them. That gave Wyatt permission to start eating too. They weren't exactly friends yet, but they weren't enemies. Angie even agreed to go to Kevin Hill's party with him on Saturday – though she stated that she was going purely for Kimmy's sake. Wyatt laughed and agreed to it.

He dropped her off at home, but this time he walked her to her door.

"Thanks, Wyatt," she said softly, looking down at the porch floor.

"Thanks for coming, Angie," he replied. "Can I, like, hug you, or something?" he asked nervously.

Angie looked up. She swallowed and then shrugged her shoulders. Wyatt cautiously put his arms around her. It wasn't the deadweight that it was before, but it didn't feel like a warm embrace either. Angie figured that he was just testing her and how much contact she'd allow. It didn't feel natural, but she wasn't too weirded out by it either.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow, then?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. Just let me know when."

"Cool. Well, see ya, Angie."

She waved goodbye to him and waited for his car to leave the driveway before going inside. She didn't want to talk about this date either. She rushed through the house and straight to her room where she put in her earphones and cracked open her homework. She hardly had any, but she wanted to distract herself. She'd be happier when their cable was installed. She didn't even have a large supply of books to read just for pleasure. She looked over her pitiful class notes from today and tried to make sense of them. She'd have to ask to borrow someone else's notes. She tried to remember who was in her class and if any of them would be invited to Kevin's party. She gave up on the idea. Even if someone was from her class, it would probably be the most impractical time to ask to borrow notes. Her phone vibrated again. She didn't even look at it. She turned her music up louder and stared at the text book.

The next day Angie looked at her minimal wardrobe. She wasn't entirely sure what a party outfit should look like – at least not as a teenager. This was one of those rare subjects that actually called for a second opinion. After Amanda raided through both of their closets and threw together a few outfits that Angie just refused to even try on, Angie called up Kimmy to come over and help – Wyatt was picking her up, too, after all. Kimmy quickly came bounding in. Her spunky giddiness was an instant hit with Amanda Pochoda. For a moment, Angie thought she saw a glimpse of what her mom must have been like as a teenager as well as a foreshadowing of what Kimmy would be like as an adult. In fact, Kimmy had about as much fun playing with the clothes as Amanda did, and she even came up with similar combinations. Angie then realized that the person she should have called was Lauren, but it was too late now, Kimmy was already accessorising. By the end of it all, Angie found herself in some summery bohemian look. Despite the fact that the skirt was actually hers, Angie felt unnatural in it. She could be girly when she wanted to be, but at this moment she didn't want to be. She felt like she was putting herself on display, selling herself as someone cool enough to even been seen at Kevin Hill's birthday party. It was like she had to prove to these people that she could wear a skirt. It was a lot of pressure and expectation to live up to. Why couldn't it just be like hanging out with Eli where it didn't matter how grubby she looked or whether or not she had even gotten out of her pyjamas. She wouldn't care if Eli sat around in his pyjamas. Then she began to wonder if she'd mind if Wyatt did so too. That turned out to be harder to picture and even trying to think about it made her uncomfortable. Wyatt needed to stay fully clothed in her mind.

When Wyatt come to the house, he looked cleaned-up again – nice jeans and a button-up shirt. Angie felt a little less silly about being in a skirt. Wyatt was polite. He said hello to Amanda Pochoda and did exactly as he did the first time, told her exactly where they were going to be and what time he'd have the girls back. Kimmy was too excited to feel like a third wheel. Wyatt was also very attentive to her. He opened the rear passenger door for her first. He stood right where Angie needed to get to her door so that she couldn't open it herself even if she wanted to, which she did. So once Kimmy was in, he held Angie's door, as usual. Wyatt made conversation with Kimmy the whole drive, which Kimmy appreciated more than anyone. She loved to talk and even if Wyatt was only pretending to be interested in what she had to say, that was good enough for her. It made Angie relax a little more to see Wyatt try so hard.

Even when they got to Kevin's house, Wyatt didn't jump into the crowd. He held back, keeping an eye on both girls, and introducing them formally to people they knew but didn't know well. Kimmy seemed to take to the action right away and was quickly chatting up people who normally didn't really acknowledge her existence. Angie was less eager. She remembered how everyone talked over her when the group went out for dinner. There were more people here and many more conversations all going over her head. Quite a few people would pounce on Wyatt and try to steer him either to another group of people, to where a video game was being played, or where someone was doing something stupidly funny. Wyatt would acknowledge them, but his eye always went back to Angie who was making herself a wallflower. Since Kimmy was happily carrying on her own, Wyatt stopped bothering to check on her and kept his focus purely on Angie.

He gently took her by the hand, led her to get a drink, found her a seat to sit on (which only required pushing some guy out of it first), and let her absorb things at her own pace. It all seemed the same to her. The music was loud, and two different kinds seemed to be coming from two different rooms. It turned out that one part of the house was now a dance floor while another part of the house was a stage for amateur members of a band to play with limited equipment. Where Angie was sitting was right in the middle of the living room. The big screen TV was on and four boys sat on the floor playing with the X-Box. A few people came to chat with her, which was alright, but Angie didn't provide much conversation on her side to keep it going very long. Every now and then Wyatt would ask Angie if she'd mind if he went and said hi to someone, or play a round, or check out what was going on in another area. Angie couldn't figure out why he was asking for permission, but he was trying to be courteous, and he was never gone for very long. He'd come back and ask her how she was doing. Sometimes something interesting would be happening - like Jesse Wilks playing some killer guitar, or Luke Gjelstien trying (and failing) to karate chop cut logs of wood – and Wyatt would take Angie by the hand so that she wouldn't miss out on what would definitely be what everyone was going to talk about on Monday.

As it got later, the party seemed to get rowdier. Some people had brought in beer, despite the fact that just about everyone there was underage, and, as can be expected, people just got louder and a bit stupider. Angie even saw Kimmy heavily making out with Kevin Hill on the stairwell. Wyatt's friends were all over him. Wyatt was still having a good time, but he was still checking back with Angie. Since she was still so quiet, Wyatt held back too. He noticed when she was looking particularly uncomfortable.

"You okay?" he asked her.

Angie gave a weak smirk and nodded her head.

"You wanna get out of here?"

Angie didn't know what to say. She wanted to say yes, but she wasn't going to end the night for anyone else. She could put up with a bit more if she had to.

"If you think you can pry your friend out of Kevin's mouth, we can get going if you want."

Angie looked over to where Kimmy and Kevin were _still_ making out. It wasn't exactly pretty, but at least that's all they were doing.

Wyatt took Angie's hand. He was leading her around. He tapped Kevin on the shoulder and got his attention.

"Hey, Kev. I think we're going to call it a night," he said.

Kevin didn't seem disappointed. "Alright. Cool. Hey, thanks for coming man," he said, giving Wyatt a fist bump. "You have a good time?"

"Yeah it was cool," Wyatt said on behalf of both of them. "Hey, Kimmy, you want a ride back?"

"Nah, it's okay. My mom's going to be home so I can just give her a call," she said.

Wyatt looked to Angie for approval.

"Okay. Well, you have my number if you need, right?" Angie asked her.

"Yeah, for sure. Wyatt's too. I'll see you guys!"

There was nothing left to do, then. Wyatt and Angie wished Kevin a happy birthday and then pushed their way through the crowds to get to the door. He opened her door, as always, and had to manoeuvre around some of the badly parked cars along the road.

"That really wasn't your thing was it?" Wyatt asked her.

Angie felt self-conscious and shrivelled a little. "Sorry."

"It's okay. We just know not to do this everyday, right?" he said with a smile.

"Hopefully," she replied.

"Kimmy seemed to enjoy it."

Angie laughed and shook her head. There were just some things from tonight that she didn't want to have memories of, and one of those things was Kimmy and Kevin drooling all over each other. Angie shuttered at the thought. She must have done so visibly enough because Wyatt laughed.

He took her straight home. He was forty minutes ahead of when he said he'd bring her back. Angie let him come around and open her door for her, even though it seemed silly since it would have been so much faster and easier for her just to get out on her own. He walked her up to her front door. It was like re-enacting last night, only a little less awkward – at least until he decided to kiss her. She saw it coming, but she let it happen this time. She stood there, almost like she was frozen, until it was over. She looked to see if he was disappointed, or if he even noticed, but he seemed content enough not to be yelled at or slapped. They said goodnight and Angie went inside first this time, and only heard his car exit the driveway. She didn't feel right - almost a little sick to her stomach. Wyatt had proven himself. He wasn't so bad after all. This isn't how girls were supposed to feel after dates. It just proved her point – she wasn't the dating kind of girl. The lovey-dovey, touchy-feely stuff just wasn't for her. If Wyatt was determined to be with her, he'd just have to accept that one-sided nature of it.


	10. Tryouts

Chapter Ten: Tryouts

Eli couldn't sleep that night. He was tired of waiting and tired of phoning. He hadn't called as much today as the day before. All it took was one call to the house for Amanda Pochoda to tell him where Angie was and who she was with. It didn't surprise him. She had mentioned it to him before; he was just never told that it was a for-sure thing. That one he could let go. Today was a different story. She could have returned one of his calls or texts. He waited in the morning, but there was only so long that he could give it. This was supposed to be the last warm weekend of the season. It wasn't raining at all. It was bright and beautiful. Joel's parents were taking the boat out again. Eli had to call Angie. She'd die if she missed it, he just knew it. Her phone was off. He tried to justify it. Maybe her phone was dead. Maybe it malfunctioned and wouldn't charge. That happened to Spence once – of course that was after his cell went in both the washer and the dryer. So Eli called the house number. Amanda answered again. Angie was home this time. She was just in the shower. Kimmy was on her way over, she said. That was alright. Eli had no problem inviting Kimmy along too. Even if they had plans and couldn't come boating, they could come hangout afterwards. But Amanda didn't stop there. She was chatty, which may or may not have been a good thing. The girls had to get ready to go to a party, Amanda said. Wyatt was coming to get them later. "He seems like a really nice boy. He's real polite. I think he'd be good for her," Amanda added. Eli could have thrown up right then and there.

"Just tell her that I called," he said. She never called back. He wasn't waiting around for her. He went with his friends, but he checked his phone every time he thought he heard even the slightest sound, resulting only in him dropping his phone several times - in the boat, fortunately, and not in the water. He was so distracted, that he was outside of every conversation that took place. Spence and Cameron just laughed at him, though Eli barely noticed.

Afterwards, as everyone was heading their own direction, Joel kept Eli back.

"It'll be okay," he said.

Eli was lost. What Joel was talking about didn't register with him.

"Angie," Joel explained. "You love her, don't you?"

"…Joel, man…" Eli said, trying to figure out where all of this was coming from.

"She does too. You can see it. Maybe she's just scared. You know, her mom and all. Doesn't want to be the same way."

Joel never usually said that much, but when he did, it was usually worth listening to. Eli wasn't sure if he wanted to, though. He wanted her so bad, but he was getting tired of chasing after her.

"Just be patient."

That was easy for Joel to say. He had all the patience of Job, and then some. But Joel had nothing on the line in this. Still, Eli couldn't throw his frustrations out at him. So Eli just shook his hand and said goodbye. He didn't even notice how warm yet clammy his friend's hand was.

Eli stayed up all night watching a movie in the living room. His dad must have sensed that his son was upset, because he stayed up with him until it was quite late. They didn't talk. Nelson Perdit wasn't really into father-son speeches. But if Eli needed to say anything, his dad would be there to listen. By one in the morning, Nelson finally went to bed. He patted his son's shoulder as a _goodnight_. Eli didn't go to bed. By three in the morning, weariness beat out Eli's frustration, so he fell asleep right there on the couch, in a slumped but seated position. He was woken up by eight o'clock as his family was preparing breakfast and Matthew and Gabby were searching for morning cartoons. It didn't help Eli's demeanour at all; he was still grumpy. He spoke only in inaudible mumbles whenever someone addressed him. It must have been bad because his mother kept asking him if he was okay, and even got up to feel the temperature of his forehead.

"I'm not sick!" he said. It was the most audible thing he had said all morning. But he shouldn't have been so harsh. His dad pushed his chair back and told Eli that the two of them were going out. Eli was still dressed from the night before, so he wasn't even given time to change. His dad didn't tell him where they were going, they just got in the truck and left. They didn't really go that far, just over to the hardware store and picked up some lumber. Eli was still confused, but he was sure that there was going to be work involved. His dad wasn't much of a talker, but he was a worker. If one of his kids seemed putout, he put them to work. He didn't do it as a punishment, more like a chance to release aggression and even meditate. His grandfather once said that everyone has their peace, their point of calm, and that it was always different for each person. It seemed like being busy was the Perdit way, though Nelson and his father went about it differently. Moses centred himself by taking care of people, animals, and plants. Nelson liked to use his hands, build things. In a way, it was like they both found peace in fixing things. The only thing that Eli wanted to fix right now was his life. He didn't think building birdhouses or painting fences would accomplish anything more than prolonging his frustration.

After buying the lumber, they stopped at an old part of the reservation. It was a rundown house owned by an elderly couple, one of the oldest in La Push. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph came outside when they saw the truck pull up and greeted the Perdits in Quillayute. So this was the job. Nelson had offered to help fix up their front steps, which were wooden and falling apart. They had cement blocks supporting the second to bottom step, but that only made it the most secure step out of all of them. It could easily fall down at any point, and in some places the wood planks had already snapped. Nelson helped them back up into their sad looking old house as Eli unloaded the truck. It was going to be a long day of unexpected work. They had to strip away the old stairs and build everything from scratch, even the banisters. Nelson worked silently as he measured and marked the wood. Eli could only take so much of the silence, so once they actually started joining the pieces, he began to talk.

"Sorry I snapped this morning," Eli said while sandpapering edges.

"You didn't sleep much," Nelson said, still focused on his work.

"Yeah, that's part of it, I guess."

"Your pants are too tight," his father said.

"What?"

Nelson tapped his son's shin with his pencil. Eli looked down and saw his pant leg up about an inch.

"Must've shrunk," Eli said.

"Or you're growing. Growing pains can drive you crazy sometimes," Nelson said calmly as ever.

"Yeah, well so can girls."

Nelson almost smiled.

"Did you ever like a girl that you just couldn't get to like you?" Eli blurted.

Nelson raised an eyebrow and smirked. That was about as close to a laugh as Nelson ever usually got. He nailed another plank and then nodded.

"Every man faces that problem," Nelson said in his calm way.

Eli sighed. "Except for the guys that get the girls that the rest of us can't."

Nelson smiled again. "Sometimes those girls aren't worth having," Nelson said. "And sometimes the effort you put in to winning those girls over makes them worth having. And sometimes, things just work out, for no reason than that's just the way that the stars happened to align that day."

Nelson's speech was too poetic to be of his own making. Eli guessed right away that it was one handed down by his grandfather.

"Your grandfather used to tell me to be patient. When she's the right one, you'll know, and it won't be long before she knows, too. It's hard to be patient when you're young. You want everything the moment that you think of it. You'll see things differently in a few years."

Yes, that was definitely an inherited speech. It was also very cliché. Eli knew that he was teenager and that all teenagers get angsty and feel like the world is out to make their lives difficult and that everything would be sorted out as soon as their hormones stopped going crazy. But hormones or not, Eli knew that he was being treated unfairly. He deserved more for his efforts.

"What do you do when she's with an idiot, and she won't talk to you anymore because she knows that he's an idiot and you won't stand for it?" Eli said, sanding the newly placed banister.

Nelson just looked at his son for a moment, and then went back to nailing the other banister pieces to the steps. That basically meant that Eli's dad have given him all the advice that he was capable of mustering. Obviously his dad never had this problem. Eli's mom was a smart woman, and she and Nelson met when they were quite young so they must not have had many dating issues to sort out beforehand. But Eli was leaving a key part out of his argument; he didn't ask his dad what his chances were with a white girl, especially when the guy who was his competition was also white. It would be hard enough to figure out a rez kid with a non rez kid. Maggie Perdit wasn't a Quileute, she was Carrier, but she still grew up on the reserve. Eli just thanked the universe that he was almost graduated and would be able to get off the reserve soon. It wasn't that he hated it, it's just that he needed to get out from this closeness. If he were in a big city, no one would just assume that he was a rez kid. No one would probably even care. There was a time that he was in Seattle visiting his sister and someone discriminated against him because they thought he was a Mexican. Eli wasn't offended by that, he thought that it was hilarious. Eli had never even been to the southern states, and he definitely didn't speak a word of Spanish. Maybe that's why he had to be patient. He had to grow up, get out on his own, and then maybe the world would start making more sense once the edges blurred a little.

The stairs were almost done. Eli was actually feeling a little better. Mrs. Joseph scuttled out of front door with an old serving tray with orange Tang and bannock with jam. It was a good time to test out the new steps. Eli tried them out first. It felt solid. Nelson followed behind, bouncing a little on a few of the steps to see if they were holding steady. It seemed to fit well; it just needed to have a protective coat of primer put on it. They dusted themselves off and went inside to wash their hands - at the request of Mrs. Joseph. Eli used their bathroom, and when he came back outside, his father was already sitting and chatting with Mr. Joseph in a mix of Quillayute and broken English. Mrs. Joseph poured Eli a glass of the Tang and jammed a piece of bannock for him.

Nelson passed Eli's phone to him. Eli had placed it on the porch while they were working, and his dad must have put it on the table when he sat down. _1 missed call_. His heart jumped. He checked the number. It was her. Finally! But his elation mellowed out as he remembered everything. How many times had he tried to call her, and now after one try he should just give in? He took a bite of the bannock. He should probably wait until they primed the stairs at least. The phone rang again. Eli felt it vibrate in his hand. He sighed, got up and went towards the truck, just to be able to take the call in private.

"Yeah?"

There was a pause before a hesitant voice said, _"Hi…Eli? You called?"_

Eli scoffed. _Yeah, about fifty times!_ "Hey, Ange. Yeah. Didn't realize that you had your weekend booked."

_"…I…I wasn't really sure what was going on."_

"So how was your date – or, sorry, date-_s_?" he said, really emphasising the plural bitterly.

_"…it was okay…Look, Eli, I wasn't trying to avoid you."_

"Hey, whatever, right? You're gonna do what you're gonna do."

_"Eli, are you mad at me?"_

Eli huffed. "You could have just given me a heads up, you know? Maybe I wouldn't have wasted my time."

She was quiet on her end.

Eli was breathing heavily. "Look. I'm kinda busy right now. I should probably go anyway before your boyfriend gets jealous."

There was a sniffle and a faint voice than said, _"…yeah…sure…"_

Eli stopped breathing. His tone softened. "Ange? You okay?"

_"…yeah. If you gotta go," _she mumbled with anothersniffle.

Eli didn't know what to do. He'd never been in this situation before. "Ange? Are you crying?"

She didn't say anything, but there was another sniffle.

His heart sank. "Ange, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean – I was just really hoping to see you this weekend. I'm not mad at you. Promise. Geez, I'm sorry."

_"No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it," _she said with another sniffle.

Eli sighed. "Hang on." He walked back towards the porch. He quickly asked his dad if he could bail – of course he said it in Quillayute, which he figured would not only go over better, but he didn't want Angie to know that he was actually in the middle of something. Nelson just raised a querying eyebrow, which made Eli add, "I think I made her cry," in a guilty voice. Nelson rolled his eyes, and excused both himself and his son.

"I can take you home," Nelson said, "but _you_ have to convince your mother to borrow the car. I promised the Josephs, and today might be the last day we're able to do it before the heavy rain sets in."

Eli agreed to it. His mom wasn't quite the pushover that his dad was, but if he told her that Angie was upset, she'd let him go. Although, if he told her that he was the reason for it, he might not be allowed to take the car ever. As Eli shot out of the car, his father yelled out the window, "Good luck. I don't envy you."

Eli dashed inside. Without taking a breath he blurted, "HeyMomIneedthecar."

"Excuse me?" Maggie Perdit said from overtop of her magazine.

"Dad just dropped me off. I need to get in to Forks."

His mother raised an eyebrow. It was one of the few traits that Mr. and Mrs. Perdit shared.

"Angie was on the phone crying. I kinda need to see her."

His mother's sceptical expression dropped instantly to one of heartfelt concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'll take care of it. I just really need the car. Please. Please," Eli said folding his hands to beg.

"On the hook," she replied.

Eli shot towards to front door, grabbing the keyring off of the set of hooks on the wall. "Thanks, Mom. Love ya. Bye!" he said running out to his mom's car. It was very rare that he ever got to drive the car. He was so used to the truck that it took him a while to remember that this one was an automatic. Once he realized that not being able to reach the clutch was okay, he darted off. He stopped just once at a gas station, but he didn't get gas there.

Angie felt even worse now. Eli was mad at her but now he probably figured that she was throwing down the _pity-me_ card. She didn't to get all soft and sobby. Now she was responsible for making Eli feel bad twice over, which made her feel even worse. She hated this. She never cried. It was a point of pride for her. She would never let her heart break. So why did it feel like it was starting to? And who did she have now? She found herself upset beyond the capacity to control it, and who could she call about it? Wyatt? There's no one she'd be least likely to tell than him! How did she find herself so reliant on a boy? This couldn't happen. She couldn't let this happen. And now she had made herself even more upset than before. She hadn't actually been crying on the phone, merely beginning too so that her nose became runny and her throat tight. But now, thinking about everything, real tears were silently streaming. It was a good thing that her mom was out, otherwise she'd probably be having a panic attack right about now. Amanda Pochoda tended to overreact very easily.

Then there was the sound of a car coming up the drive way. "Oh great," Angie moaned aloud. Her mom had come back. She probably forgot her purse or something. Angie retreated to her room, and plopped herself on her bed with a pillow. There was a knock on the door. If it was Amanda, she'd have a key to let herself in. If it was anyone else, well they could go away. They knocked again. Angie just waited it out. By the sound of it, they gave up and went away.

Then there was noise that scared Angie half to death; a tap on her bedroom window. Her heart was racing. Then a muffled, "Ange?"

"Eli?"

She got up and threw back her curtains. Sure enough he was standing on the other side. She slid opened her window. "Eli, you creeper, what are you doing?"

Eli pushed a large rock over with his foot and used it as a step. "Hey," he said, his elbows now able to rest on the casement. He had a plastic shopping bag dangling from his wrist. He reached in and pulled out a pintsize tub of ice cream. "Peace offering."

Angie unlatched the window screen and removed it. Eli handed the small tub to her.

"So are you gonna let me in, or am I just gonna hang out here?" he asked her.

She left her bedroom and unlocked the front door. Eli wasn't far behind. The moment he came into view Angie sprung a hug on him. It definitely caught him off guard, but he didn't stop her. Her arms were wrapped right around his neck and her head was bent down and buried at his throat.

"I'm sorry I'm a terrible person," she mumbled.

Eli nearly choked. "Whoa. Hey. What. No. Ange. I'm the one who's stressing you out. If I just minded my own business, I wouldn't have…"

Angie slowly let Eli go.

"I'm sorry too," he said.

So the eruption from this morning had faded out. They sat in her room, eating ice cream. Angie leaned up against him, and he put an arm around her torso, the only way that they were capable of sitting so close to one another and still have use of each hand to hold the tubs and eat at the same time.

"Can you tell Joel that I'm sorry I didn't come?" Angie asked.

"He's cool with it. He was the one telling me that I shouldn't worry about it. Sometimes I think he understand you more than I do," Eli said with a laugh.

"He's a good guy," she said.

"He is. See, you should be holding out for a guy like that."

Angie laughed. "Maybe a little too passive for me. I might accidentally steamroll him one day."

"Nah, you don't hit that hard."

"You haven't seen me play. I've been known to make people bleed before," she said.

Eli laughed at the absurdity of the comment. "What do you do? Kick 'em with your cleats?"

"I said I was tough, not sadistic."

"Well you haven't beat me up yet."

"I could take you," she joked.

"Uh huh, sure. Save it for the tryouts. Those are coming up, aren't they?"

"Yup. Wednesday. It's going to be brutal."

"Why?"

"You know I'm going to try to kick the basketball. It's inevitable. I'm pre-programmed to kick things."

"I'd laugh if you got a basket doing that. It'd be hilarious," Eli said, already laughing and spilling his ice cream down his chin and onto his shirt.

Angie gave a playful scream and shot up in case the dessert would end up in her hair. She ran and got him a paper towel. He stood up and was able to get the drippy ice cream and cookie chunks off, but the brown streak that it left wasn't very appealing. He took his shirt off and went to wash it out in the bathroom sink. Angie was now flat on her back laughing at him. Eli was in the bathroom laughing at her laughing at him.

A knock on the door. Angie didn't really think twice about who it might be. With Eli having shown up, it didn't really matter. Angie took a long breath, trying to stop smiling. She ran her fingers through her now dishevelled hair. Good enough. She answered the door. Her smile faded when she saw who it was.

"Oh, hi."

"Hey," Wyatt said. He stood awkwardly in the door way. His hands clutching a grey knit sweater. "You left this in the car. Thought you might want it."

Angie took it. It wasn't hers, but she knew that it was Kimmy's so she might as well keep it for her until Monday. "Oh, thanks."

She could see him trying to inch his way in. She didn't really want to invite him in, but to just leave him out there would be rude. He flashed a smile at her. He must have thought that he was gaining extra brownie points for his chivalrousness. That smile quickly melted when Eli came out into the hall, his shirt still in his hand. Angie knew that she was going to be caught in the crossfire. But Eli just smiled, not his wide beaming smile, but a sneaky sort of toothy grin. Given his shirtlessness and Angie's flushed face, he must have known what this looked like. With his hatred of Wyatt, Angie knew in the pit of her stomach that Eli was going to play it up, just to piss Wyatt off.

"Hey. Wyatt, right? How's it going?" Eli said cheekily.

Wyatt just grimaced. He gave a nod of acknowledgement, but that's as far as his politeness would take him.

Eli's smile got wider. "Hey, you two probably want to talk alone, or something. I'll just wait out back in your room, Ange, okay?"

Angie didn't know what to say. Technically Eli wasn't doing any harm – it was only his mannerisms that were suggestive. "…yeah, sure. Go ahead."

Eli nodded his head to the blond boy. "See you around, _Wyatt_."

Wyatt's face was going red. His nostrils flared. He didn't relax until Eli was out of sight.

"It's a long story," she muttered. "He spilt all over his shirt. He's just cleaning off."

"Right," Wyatt said. He was trying really hard to bite his tongue. "We're still cool, right?" he asked her hopefully.

"Yeah. Yeah," she replied.

"Okay. It's just – it's just hard to tell with you sometimes."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I take it that today is your _friend_ day?"

"Yeah, sorta. I've only been able to see him about once a week."

"Okay. I can work around that." He stepped back for a moment, looking down the hallway, "SEE YOU AROUND, THEN!" Wyatt called out.

Angie didn't get it. Why bother? Then Wyatt put his arm around her and planted a kiss on her. Once again Angie just let him do it, but she was annoyed about this one. Obviously he was doing it simply to show Eli up. Where did this sudden outburst of dominance and possession come from? When he was done, he looked at Angie with a smirk. "See you tomorrow," he said to her.

"Yeah, see ya," she replied. She shut the door behind Wyatt when he left. When she turned around she saw Eli standing in the hallway, his shirt now on and his eyes narrowed.

"What is it with you two?" Angie exclaimed. "I swear, if I had never been involved, you two wouldn't give a crap about each other."

Eli scoffed, but lightly, "Ange, we don't give a crap about each other now."

"You know what I mean!" she said. Then she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt. She felt Wyatt-fied and unnatural.

Eli laughed. He knew that he could kiss her better than that. She wouldn't wipe it off either. He didn't know how he knew that; his experience was limited. His turn was coming, he could feel it. Already today was a victory. He was in and Wyatt had been turned away.

Eli knew what he had to do now. He had to be there. That was the only advantage that Wyatt had over him – he was there every single day, in all of her classes, at every lunch hour, etc. It was going to be time consuming, but the saying goes that persistency pays off. He told his plan to Spence, who was in full support, and who also informed everyone else they knew.

Realistically, Eli couldn't show up everyday, so he had to be selective. At least Angie was talking to him more regularly now. He reserved as much judgement as he could and kept up the _friend_ front. This way he was able to be a part of her day. He knew who she hung out with, how much homework she had, what she was looking forward too and what she was dreading. It was simple. Wednesday would be his day. He was lucky that P.E. was his last block. He was able to sneak off early without changing and not waiting for the bell. Spence had cut that entire block of math class and was already waiting in his car. Before the end of day announcements sounded on the school PA system, the two of them were already leaving La Push behind them.

Spence was more excited than Eli thought he should be. They weren't going to actually make a big scene or anything, though Eli had the feeling that Spence would try. It didn't matter. Angie wouldn't care if Spence looked like an idiot. She was still getting used to him and his loud obnoxious tendencies. Eli would have asked Joel to tag along instead, but he had missed every day of school so far this week. He seemed fine on Saturday, but anything can happen to get someone sick. Cameron was a write-off because there would be no way that Jennifer would allow for him to be a part of _Operation Break-up_ as Spence called it. So it was just the two of them. When they pulled up to the high school parking lot, most of the student cars had already gone. It was easy to see where to go; the gym doors were open to let air in as well as observers. Mostly teachers and parents sat in the bleachers, but there was good number of students there too. Eli wouldn't have been able to recognise _the table_, but seeing Wyatt in a group in the corner was all he needed to assure him that he was in the right place at the right time. The tryouts had already begun before Eli and Spence arrived, so they missed the drills and were now actually playing a full on game with a large amount of switching out. The boys just grabbed an empty spot on the bleachers, not too far from ground level, and easy access to the stairs. Spence wasn't much into sports himself, but he smiled as he sat down, looking at the girls on the court below running back and forth. He turned to Eli and said, "Damn, I should get me a white girl. Any recommendations?"

Eli just jabbed him with his elbow. He could have told Spence that it wouldn't be worth the trouble, but he was too distracted himself to bother keeping his friend in check.

The coach blew the whistle, bringing the game to a standstill. He read out a list of last names and positions, and those girls who were called took their place on the floor as those who had just played took a seat on the bench. Eli didn't need "_Pochoda"_ to know where Angie was. She took her place as a forward. It was very apparent that she was _in_ the game. Her knees bent, her back hunched a little, ready to dart out. She had her eye fixed on her check, ready for the whistle to blow, and then that player would never be able to shake her off. And that's exactly what she did. She was fast, and she could manoeuvre. She could change direction in an instant, weave in and out of other players even in the tightest of spaces. If her team had the ball, she was right there fighting off the offensive, and when the tables turned, she was ready to steal. It was stealing where she got aggressive. She wasn't a ball hog, in fact, whenever she did get the basketball she was determined to get rid of it as soon as possible - she wasn't going to be held responsible for shooting. She'd fly up in the middle of a pass, knock the ball right out of someone's hands, and get so close to whoever was in possession that they couldn't even dream of sneaking it by her. This was where problems started to occur. No one could say that Angie wasn't good at what she did, but she had a number of fouls called on her. Most of them were for traveling – she sometimes carried the ball from underneath when dribbling – some for being in the key, but those were violations that were called on most girls. The big one was the personal fouls. Angie would sometimes appear way too quickly, scaring one of the girls who'd then trip, then claim that they'd been pushed. Angie would swear that she never touched them, but she had no choice but to apologize and keep her distance. There was only one incident where someone actually did get hurt. Angie had just stolen the ball mid air, knowing that she'd try to pass it right away, the opposition tried to position herself ready to block. The problem was that this girl didn't move quite as quickly as Angie did, and when she landed, ready to make for the clearing, she rammed right into the check. The foul was called on her. A roar of _boos_ sounded at the coach – Wyatt's group who had been rooting her on (along with a few of the other girls from the group who were on the court). The girl who was knocked down played it up, but when she got to her feet, she threw a dirty curse at Angie, which didn't go unnoticed by the coach who then gave her a penalty. Both girls were asked to sit down.

The coach switched one more time – some girls doubled. Angie figured that the coach was sampling out the potentials again. Her name wasn't called. She grabbed her water bottle and her backpack. She saw Wyatt get up from the far side of the bleachers to meet her. She moved closer towards the door so that she wouldn't be in anyone's way. The next thing she knew, she saw Eli and Spence coming down the bleachers. Despite the miserable failure of today's tryout, she broke out into a smile and ran for them. She jumped at Eli and threw her arms around his neck. He picked her up and swung her around a little.

"Ew, you're gross and sweaty," he joked as he swung her.

He put her back on her feet. She then gave Spence a hug, who found it very unexpected and didn't know what to do. It ended quicker than Eli's.

"Way to cause some concussions there, steamroller," Eli said to her.

She bowed her head self-consciously.

He put an arm around her friendlily, as a half hug. She smiled again and said, "Thanks for coming, guys. I didn't know that you would be."

Spence just shrugged. "What else are we going to do on Wednesday night?"

"Well, Thursdays will be good again," Angie said excitedly.

"_Carl_," Eli said to finish her sentence.

"And guess who's getting cable installed this week!"

"'Bout time," Eli said, high-fiving her. "Premiere party at your place."

Spence just shook his head. "I don't get what you guys see in that show. It's so slow."

"Hey, no knocking _Carl_," Eli said, mock threatening, "or I'll send Ange out on ya to be steamrolled."

"Isn't that the guy from your house?" Spence asked, nodded towards Wyatt.

Wyatt stopped across the room when he saw Eli and his friend standing around Angie. Angie turned to see him and had the feeling that she was going to be mortified. She was right.

Eli smiled and waved at him. "'Sup, man?" he shouted at Wyatt.

Wyatt just glared.

"Dude, I don't think he understands you," Spence told him. So he faced Wyatt, held up an open palm and said, "How, Kemosahbe," in his most hammed-up TV Indian voice.

Both Eli and Spence were killing themselves laughing. Angie hid her face in her hand.

"I cannot believe you guys," she said, but she couldn't hide her smile no matter how mad at them she wanted to be.

Wyatt came over. He wasn't going to back down. His strides were made with confidence. When he got close, he ignored the guys and just smiled and Angie, swooping down to give her a hug.

"Hi…" she said awkwardly as he squeezed her too tight.

"A bunch of us are heading out as soon as June and Taylor are done. You coming?" Wyatt asked her.

"…uh…" She looked back at her friends.

Eli put up his hands. "Hey, we just dropped in. You do what you gotta do." He sounded sincere, at least beyond his cheeky tone. He usually sounded a little harsher if he was upset. "Call me if you get bored," he said.

"…okay," Angie said as he gave her a goodbye hug.

"See you, Angie," Spence said with a wave.

"Later, _Wyatt_," Eli said.

Wyatt put his arm around Angie's shoulders.

"I'll just get changed, okay?" she told him, wriggling out from under the weight of his arm.

As she was changing, Angie was kind of wishing that Eli would have said something. He couldn't have come all this way if he didn't have something in mind. Maybe he was doing something with Spence. Surely Spence wouldn't have agreed to come out just to watch a silly tryout. Well, whatever their business in Forks was, she was still glad that they stopped in.

When she came back out, Wyatt was standing right there. He took her backpack and swung it over his shoulder, and then took her hand to lead her to his car. The rest of the _table_ got into their cars and off they went for celebratory nachos and milkshakes. Their drinks had only just arrived when Angie's phone vibrated. It was only a text, but she was still relieved. Being out with the group meant that more things were happening over her head, and Wyatt was being as close as ever. His deadweight arm just pressed her down into her seat. The text would at least give her something to do while people ignored her, and keep her preoccupied in case Wyatt tried to kiss her again – for some reason he was starting to make a habit of it.

_bored yet? _It was Eli.

maybe

_should I send a rescue party?_

a party?

_maybe not a party_

haha, really?

_rescuer on the way_

who did you send?

_the usual. tall dark & handsome_

Joel?

_?_

kidding

_ 2__nd__ table from the counter_

Angie looked up. A large group of people were passing by her table, obstructing her view. When they finally went past, Angie saw the usual tall dark and handsome standing, bent over his phone.

_see him yet?_

She couldn't help but smile. She asked Wyatt to pass her bag to her. He asked if everything was alright.

"Yeah, fine. I just have something I have to do, okay?"

He was hesitant, but he wasn't going to stop her. She managed to scoot out and around the rest of the group. She put some money down on the table for the food that she was supposed to be sharing.

"How long have you been here?" she asked Eli when she came up to him.

"Only as long as you needed me to be," he said. "You ready to be rescued?"

For the first time, Angie took his hand, ready to lead him out of the door. He just smiled and went with it.

"So where's Spence?" Angie asked outside.

"Across the street."

Eli didn't want it to be too weird, so they opted for getting a table at the next door restaurant. He anticipated that Angie would be done with Wyatt before eating, but even if that wasn't the case, she wouldn't turn down a dessert with him. He lucked out. Angie even seemed to be appreciative of it. She sat there talking and laughing and really being a part of what was going on, as opposed to being Wyatt's wallflower. Even she and Spence were getting along fine on their own. She was trying to talk him into a _Carl_ party, but Spence declared that he'd need a better incentive to sit through that show – she'd have to provide food, and maybe the entire girls' basketball team. To which Angie replied, "What, you don't want the cheerleaders?" Spence found himself completely dumbfounded and speechless while Eli laughed at him for being shown up. Angie could be witty like one of the guys when she wanted to. She wasn't an accessory, which Wyatt apparently didn't understand yet. It didn't matter though; at this point Eli had two victories over the blond boy. It was only a matter of time now.


	11. Being Rescued

Chapter Eleven: Being Rescued

Thursday morning Angie apparently had a lot of explaining to do. Kimmy had heard about her ditching the _table_ from the guys who told Kevin Hill. Kevin would have been there himself if he and Kimmy hadn't decided to be stuck on each other everyday since his birthday party. Angie was forced to explain that the whole thing was not as devastating as it sounded. As a secondary topic, Kimmy had to find out why she body -checked Lauren Abel.

"I didn't body-check her. She just got under me at the wrong time," Angie defended. Lauren had taken this information with a great deal more humour than Kimmy did. Kimmy was mostly concerned about being guilty by association. Kevin was trying to convince her to throw a huge party for her birthday at the start of October, and if Kimmy was going to do it, she want anyone mad at her – they could trash the place or worse, not show up. Angie tried not to take the slight personally. Kimmy was just one of those people. Angie thought about submitting her complaints to the wilful ear of her physics partner, but then she realized that if Lauren was the only sensible person at this school who Angie could talk to uncensored, who did Lauren have to vent to? She certainly hadn't been venting at Angie at all. That gave Angie a new focus. Why would she spend all of her efforts trying to keep up with Kimmy, Wyatt, and the _table_? If she was going to do something with her time, it should be with people she actually enjoyed spending time with. She figured that she didn't make the basketball team anyway, so she'd have a lot more free evenings than she planned on. So during the break, she found Lauren sitting quietly, reading a book in an empty classroom, and asked if she'd want to exchange phone numbers and the like. She didn't seem eager about it, but Lauren was willing. They exchanged numbers and e-mail addresses – Angie gladly announced that she'd have internet up soon.

After school Angie asked Eli if it was weird to just try to befriend someone like that. He was supportive. He had never met Lauren – at least not _this_ Lauren – but he reassured Angie that the next fun thing that came up would have more than enough room for her friend to participate in.

"It might not be that exciting," Eli added, "but my mom's invited you over again. I think I might have worried her on the weekend. She'll want to see for herself that you're okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Then she remembered the phone call that led to Eli rushing to her bedroom window. "Oh, right. Awkward."

"Yeah, how do you think I feel?" he said jokingly. He felt pretty good about it now. Having infiltrated Angie's weekdays meant that he was first in line for the weekend. It was Wyatt's turn to take a number and wait in line.

Angie met him at the resort, and even though there was no exciting plan, they seemed content enough to just hangout at home. Angie was of course bombarded by Gabby the moment she stepped through the door. She had to go through the motions of looking at the pictures of her dance class, being showed her new school clothes, and having her hair played with as she checked her e-mail on Eli's computer. Meanwhile, Eli tried and failed to get Matthew off of his tummy, laying three feet from the TV screen playing a video game. It resulted in a small wrestling match on the living room floor which ended as soon as Angie had come out from his sister's room – at least it ended for Eli; Matthew gave him one last jab before sliding back into his gaming position on the floor.

Maggie Perdit spent the entire evening calling Angie by her full name. She fell in love with it the moment that Eli let it slip and now wouldn't call her by anything else. Angie found herself having a hard time responding to it. Often she would look around, trying to see if there was someone else around that she had missed being introduced to. Eli tried to talk his mother out of it, but Maggie wouldn't hear of it.

'But it's such a lovely name. If I had another daughter I would definitely consider using it," she said at the dinner table, to which Nelson Perdit just raised an eyebrow at the thought of adding to the family. It made Matthew laugh, and Eli would have laughed too if his mother wasn't disrupting his main point.

"I was going to call you Jacqueline if you were a girl," his mother continued to tell him.

Matthew pointed his finger and laughed at his brother.

"You would have been Jacqueline or Geraldine," she said to her youngest son.

Matthew stopped laughing, frowned, and began to eat his dinner again quietly.

Eli began laughing when he noticed his father shaking his head the whole time. It seemed like Maggie Perdit had not shared her name list with her husband – probably why the girl that was born was given the name Gabrielle.

Angie just sat there enjoying the family dinner. She only ever got real family dinners when she was with friends, but usually families treated her more like a guest and spent more time boasting than just carrying on as normal. The Perdits weren't like that. It was as if they had adopted her into the family. She loved them. Even Nelson Perdit had his quirks that she admired. Angie was almost able to pick up on the subtleties that Eli often watched for in his father. The half smiles that meant he was laughing, the serious straight face that meant he was purposely making you feel awkward because of something silly. She never saw him make a serious face that actually meant that he was upset – though she used to think that she did, Eli explained otherwise.

Eli was nothing short of ecstatic to be back in the heart of things again. Sure it was costing him a lot of time and gas money, but he was at least keeping a steady pace with his competition. Even though it was his senior year, it was this on-going competition that occupied all of his attention. He didn't abandon school – he found a feasible balance to get everything done and well done at that, but his end goal was always to get through to the weekend to see just where he and Wyatt stood.

Despite her pessimistic attitude towards it, Angie had made the basketball team. Wyatt had been really happy for her and was congratulating her for the whole first week. It was almost suffocating. Angie tried to be grateful, but she knew too well that it wasn't her sport and she wasn't fully open to adopting it. She figured that Wyatt must have thought that this gave the two of them more common ground. He'd be at volleyball practice on one day and she'd be at basketball on another. Wyatt was her number one fan and showed up as often as he could, but he wasn't the only one. Although Eli's enthusiasm wasn't as profound as Wyatt's when it came to the sport in question, Eli followed the practice schedule just as attentively as Angie did herself. He also had the advantage of having the same outlook on the sport as she did, and therefore was able to find sinister humour in it, the kind that Angie often produced herself. He could laugh with her in a way that was playful – a way that Wyatt couldn't. And with Eli's constant presence, Angie simply wasn't able to give Wyatt the same amount of attentiveness as he gave her. When Eli thought about it, he couldn't figure out if he was staring as the good guy or the bad guy in this scene anymore. He had never thought of himself as getting any type of pleasure from another person's misfortune. But every time he and Wyatt were in the same room, that glare answered his questioning for him. Wyatt held himself over Angie like an ogre would hoard over treasure – treasure that was never his to start with – treasure that was stolen from the good guys. Angie would endure it, obviously faking it as she went because she wouldn't admit defeat or weakness. Eli felt less sorry for his actions. It was a mean and selfish thing to do – to anyone other than this guy, anyway. He was certain that Wyatt would only be able to endure this fight for so long. He'd have to break at some point.

He was right. Wyatt could feel Eli's tug on Angie. She even noticed it. As much as she preferred not to play the girlfriend role, she knew that she had accepted the position and had to act accordingly – at least some of the time. She could start by taking notes from Kimmy, who was still very much attached to Kevin as if they were somehow trying to share a single body. But making out with Wyatt just didn't feel like Angie assumed it was supposed to.

Angie was the one who started it all in the first place. Wyatt was finally losing steam on pursuing her. He stopped making plans with her for weekends. They'd still sit together in class and at lunch hour, but he seemed to have exhausted himself trying to keep this whole relationship going. Angie knew that it wasn't fair to him, so she tried to make up for it.

She stayed after school on one of his volleyball nights, and watched the game. She still didn't think much of the sport but she took her cues from the other _table_ people. She cheered on Wyatt and his team – he noticed right away. His team even won, so when Wyatt came towards the bleachers, he was doubly excited, though he still approached Angie cautiously. She had no choice but to smile back at him, and she did. She really tried to mean it too. All she could think of was how a normal girlfriend was supposed to act – and so she did that first thing that came to mind. Wyatt obviously wasn't expecting a sudden show of affection, but since Angie basically threw herself at him, he wouldn't object. It was awkward, but he must not have noticed because he took to it way too easily. Angie had singlehandedly restarted this whole twisted relationship cycle, and thus, Wyatt was getting all touchy-feely again. Now his arm was always possessively around her again, he was kissing her freely any time that he felt like it and however he felt like it. Angie of course just kept going along with it. She had to. She and Wyatt were now being classified as one of the _classic_ couples, which made Kimmy a little jealous since she desperately wanted more recognition for being attached to Kevin by the hip. Unfortunately for her, Kevin went through girls too frequently to be a part of a _set_ so soon. Kimmy estimated that three months should be enough to earn the title. Lauren Vargas estimated that it would end in two.

Lauren was becoming more and more of a lifesaver for Angie as things began to speed up. She had more homework, basketball practice, a needy boyfriend with needy friends, and an Eli who seemed to want an equal if not greater amount of attention. It got worse when Angie found herself with a bad head cold. She missed one day of school, including a basketball game. She curled up on the living room couch, leaving the TV on but not really watching it. It was a Thursday. _Carl Fallen_ would be on tonight. She had already messaged Eli telling him that they couldn't watch it together tonight because she was sick. Lauren stopped by Pochoda house after school with extra homework for her. Angie couldn't have appreciated it more. Lauren even stayed over, going over the notes with her and keeping her up to date on everything that happened at school. The next thing Angie knew, a second person had arrived into her living room. Eli had showed up anyway.

"Ange, you're the only person who understands _Carl_ the way I do. Besides, you have cable now, we're going to use it!" he said as he made himself quite at home on the couch. He didn't mind sitting right next to the sick one. He was even very dotting, grabbing an extra pillow from her room, bringing her water, and anything else that he felt was necessary to do. Angie got up to order pizza before the show was going to start, giving Lauren and Eli plenty of time to talk to one another. Eli didn't mind this Lauren girl at all. She said things how it was.

"So why don't you just tell her that you like her, already?" Lauren told him quite bluntly.

He was taken aback at first. "You met this _Wyatt_ guy?" he asked her.

Lauren nodded. "He's okay. But you know that she only ever talks about you."

"She does?"

Lauren nodded again. "Look, I don't know you. But I know that she acts differently around you. I can see it. I know that you're friends, and it might be weird, but Angie would probably retain a lot more sanity if she just chose you."

"Try telling her that," he said.

When Angie came back, she curled up next to him, her head on his stomach. She stayed that way until the pizza came, and after only a single slice she curled back down again. She couldn't even stay awake for the whole episode, so Eli carried her into her room after the show and drove Lauren home so that Amanda Pochoda wouldn't have to.

He couldn't sleep that night when he got home. Lauren's words just kept replaying in his head. The more he thought about it, the more it justified everything that he was doing. It was different hearing it from someone that wasn't his friend. What was Eli to this Lauren girl? Nothing. And where was Wyatt this whole night? He wouldn't even come to see if she was okay? Angie probably told him not to bother and the idiot listened. Eli knew better. He knew that he was doing everything right. Even after seeing her sick – coughing and sneezing, aching and fading – he knew that it was worth it. If Wyatt didn't see it like that, he didn't deserve her.

Angie seemed to be questioning it a lot more now too. She was feeling a little better on Monday and so she went back to school to see that nothing had really changed while she was gone. Wyatt didn't kiss her as much since she was sick, but that was about the only difference. At this point, neither Lauren nor Eli were being very helpful in the advice department; they were both saying the same thing: "dump him already."Angie's only response was a weak "maybe."

But her decision making was interrupted by a change in events. A date. It turned out that Amanda Pochoda had begun to see someone, and she too needed some time to assess it, though in a different way.

"You've got plan this weekend, don't you?" she asked her daughter.

The question took Angie by surprise. "Well, Kimmy's throwing an early Halloween party on Saturday. I think she's invited just about the whole school."

"Oh, that sounds like fun. Did you want to see if you could have a sleep over?"

Angie was sceptical about the direction this conversation was taking. It must have been written all over her face, because Amanda continued to explain as though she felt compelled to do so.

"I just thought it might be a fun girls' thing for you. You don't seem to do many girl things."

"You want me out of the house, don't you?" Angie accused.

Her mother stumbled with her words a bit, confirming Angie's suspicions.

"So your mystery guy is coming over then?" Angie guessed. "Why can't you go weekend at his place?"

"It's not that simple."

"He's married, isn't he?"

"He is not," Amanda defended, then she went quiet for a moment as if rethink her answer.

"Have I at least met this guy before?" Angie asked.

Amanda nodded her head from side to side, as if that was the middle ground between yes and no.

Angie just stared at her point blank.

"His name is Ryan," she finally said.

Angie kept staring.

"He came by the house once. The day we got the cable."

Angie stared some more, and then she blurted out, "The cable guy?"

Amanda flushed.

"What is he? Like three years older than me?" she accused.

"He is not. I'm not that much of a cougar."

"...yet."

"He seems really nice. He's taken me out a few times during our lunch breaks. He lives in Angeles."

Angie just broke out laughing. She couldn't contain herself with the absurdity of it all. Somehow this seemed like Doug all over again. Nonetheless, Angie agreed to vacate the premises while whatever her mom was doing was going on. She really didn't want to think about it. Convincing Kimmy of hosting a sleepover was only too easy. She jumped at the idea and the next thing Angie knew, four other girls were going to be spending the weekend there too. All Angie had to do know was let Eli know why she was going to be MIA for a while. Of course, he responded with a typical Eli answer: "Just let me know when you need to be rescued." He made it sound so inevitable.

Eli figured that he knew Angie well enough that it would be inevitable. She hated parties – at least real ones. But Friday came and went, and there was no word from her. That wasn't surprising. Angie could probably fake a girls' night without too much suffering. It was Saturday that Eli was anticipating. He didn't hold back on making plans with the guys, but he kept his phone on the whole day. The October weather wasn't a warm one, but the snow hadn't fallen yet so it was worth biking the trails. He wouldn't hold this one over Angie for missing out. The trails were steep, and as active a girl as Angie was, Eli wasn't prepared to risk her fragile bones on the forest floor quite yet. It wasn't uncommon for people to get severely hurt just by hitting a rock or a root on the trail. It did, however, give Eli an idea for future spring activities with her. He could take her down some of the easy trails, test her out, and maybe even by the summer she'd be ready for the real thing with him and the guys.

Eli and his friends spent hours in the woods. They didn't even come back into town until the sun began to set. They all went straight to Spence's house were they enjoyed the barbeque in the rain, and complaining about which parts of their bodies ached after the day of hard biking. As tired as they were, they wouldn't quit just yet. They pushed themselves into a game of Frisbee in the dark on the muddy field by the park. They played until they began falling down from exhaustion, but they would have kept playing if they could. Luckily Eli was able to get a ride home and didn't have to worry about more biking – although he was no more than a block away from his own house. When he got in, Eli collapsed on his bed, not even under the blankets. He closed his eyes for only a few minutes and then forced himself to get up and at least have a shower – he was even grossing himself out. The warm water felt good on his sore muscles, giving him a little more strength to put on his sweat pants and crawl properly into bed. There was no falling asleep – he was out the moment his head hit the pillow. He wasn't even aware of dreaming. But his sleep was disturbed. That familiar sound of buzzing against his dresser caused his eyes to slowly creep open. He rubbed his face and then looked over at the time on his clock. It blurrily read either 11:14 or 1:09. He instinctively reached over to the source of the buzzing and accepted the call. His eyes didn't focus enough to read the caller name.

"Yeah?" he said impatiently.

"_Eli?"_

It was Angie. Even half asleep he knew her voice instantly. His eyes seemed to also instantly go into focus, as if someone had just turned on the lights. He checked the clock again. It was 1:09am. If the time hadn't been enough to tell him, her voice certainly did, something wasn't right.

"Ange? What's wrong?"

"_Were you sleeping? I'm sorry. It's stupid of me to call. I just needed to – you were the first person I thought of."_

She was speaking quickly, skipping over breaths. Eli was sitting fully upright now. He tried to calm her down and figure out what was going on.

"Where are you?" He could hear the party still going on in the background and figured that she was still at Kimmy's, but that wasn't what he was really asking. He was asking who was around. And when she told him that she currently shut herself up in a bathroom, he didn't need another second to act.

But even now she felt guilty. _"I'm sorry. I don't even know why I called you. Go back to bed. I'll just get a cab or something."_

Eli was already singlehandedly putting his pants on and throwing on a sweatshirt. "I'm coming," he promised her.

Eli had always been waiting for his moment to shine, but that wasn't what was going through his mind now. Angie had reached her limit. Once the coolers were being passed around and the party started taking on new directions, Angie did what she did best, became reclusive. Whether it was the amount of alcohol in his system, or his friends egging him on, it didn't matter, Wyatt wasn't feeling anywhere near as cautious as he once did. He wasn't being overly physical, not the way that movies often portrayed guys at parties, and he wasn't even suggesting that they take anything further. There was just something uncomfortable about the way he was interacting with her. She had kissed him before. She had made out with him before. But as he was draped over her, kissing her neck in a tucked away corner, Angie felt unbearably nauseous. She excused herself and locked herself in the bathroom to throw up, which she did, and then found herself soaking wet with tears, unable to stand from the shivers that had grown into full on shakes, and feeling terribly claustrophobic even though she was in an empty room, and not a particularly small one at that. That was it. She needed out. She needed somewhere safe. But home wouldn't be safe right now. Home would be something else; an intrusion that would most likely taint any hope of feeling comfortable there again. Instinctively she dialled the number of her rescuer.

The Perdit house was dead quiet. Everyone else was sound asleep. There was no point asking for permission. Eli grabbed the truck keys and tried to back it out of the driveway as discreetly as possible. Once he was on the road, if focus was fixed. He felt like he couldn't get there fast enough, yet once he arrived, he had no real recollection of the actual drive there. He marched right up to the house, not knowing who exactly he was going to meet at the door, but knowing full well that it didn't matter. He was here for one reason and one reason only.

He banged on the door, but who could tell if anybody inside could actually hear it over the loud speakers. He banged again and then just reached for the knob. He had just touched it when the door pulled open. Kimmy was standing there in her Tinkerbelle dress, a huge toothy smile on her face, at least until she saw who was at the door. A few other people inside stopped their conversations to see who was at the door as well.

"Oh," was all that Kimmy said at first.

Eli didn't even have time to form his words before one of the guys dressed as a mad scientist called out into the other room, "Yo, Wyatt! Looks like the squaw's stopping in."

Kimmy snapped her head back, "Guys, shut up! That's for the girls anyway."

"I know," Kevin added, "that's what makes it funny."

"Actually, that's what makes it stupid," Eli said edgily, and then he tried to make his way inside. But it was too late. Wyatt charged towards the door, practically pushing Kimmy out of the way and blocking the whole frame with his body.

"No one invited you," Wyatt seethed.

Eli scowled. "Don't worry, I wouldn't stay even if you had." He tried to push himself through the door, but Wyatt blocked him.

"Why don't you just get the hell out?" Wyatt said, shoving Eli back.

Eli didn't even look at him. His eyes when past the blond boy and sought out Kimmy.

"Where is she?" Eli demanded.

"Upstairs," she said hesitantly, keeping an eye on Wyatt's reaction.

Wyatt stepped out of the doorway, closer to the one who didn't belong. "Get it through your head! She's with me! Why don't you just stick with your own damn kind?"

Eli could see him tightening his fists. Kevin and a few others were crowding the doorway, eager to watch a fight.

"Guys! Seriously!" Kimmy shouted at all of them.

Eli didn't want to fight, but he would if he had to.

Kevin was now outside too. Eli was starting to get nervous, but he wasn't going to show it. He didn't think he could take both of them.

"Come on, man," Kevin said a little more soberly. "It'll just get Kimmy in trouble." She must have told him to reel Wyatt back, and he did so, but there was a look in his eyes as if he didn't really mean what he said. Eli was certain that Kevin felt just as ready to pounce on him as Wyatt did.

Kevin led Wyatt back inside as Kimmy tried to shove everyone else in too. She was just about to close the door when it opened again. Angie squeezed out, wearing a hippie dress and clutching onto her backpack. As she was leaving, she was apologising to her friend for leaving and causing a scene.

"Hey, no worries," Tinkerbelle said. Then she turned her attention to Eli, "you'll take care of her, won't you?"

Eli took Angie's backpack from her. "For sure," he said, still sour from his encounter with his rival. He put a comforting arm around Angie as he walked her back to the truck. He opened her door and gave her a hand up to the seat. She wouldn't look at him in the eye. Her head was bowed the whole time.

"Hey," he said softly, placing the bag at her feet, "you okay?"

She didn't respond. Not even a nod. He put his hand on her leg and rubbed it a bit. "I'll take you home, don't worry," he said.

He shut her door and climbed into the driver's side. Angie still didn't say much. She leaned her head against the cold window and watched the dark road zip by. Eli watched her about as much as he was watching the road. When he said that he was taking her home, he meant his home. Angie wasn't surprised by that. Leaving Forks almost seemed to release some of the tension. The only thing that was said between them was when they were coming up close to the house.

"We'll just have to be quiet," Eli said to her softly. "I kind of snuck out while everyone was sleeping."

Angie bowed her head even lower. "I'm so sorry," she squeaked.

"For what?"

"For everything. For dragging you into this. For being messed up."

They were in the drive way. The ignition was off. "Hey," he said putting an arm around her, "I wouldn't be in it if I didn't want to be."

She leaned her head along his arm and whimpered. He let her sit there for a few minutes, until she felt better. Then she sat up, wiped her face with her jacket sleeve, and looked at him for direction. He opened the door, and she did the same. Quietly they closed them and made their way into the house. Eli led the way, walking carefully, trying not to make any noise, while holding onto Angie's hand and bringing her close behind him. When they were safely shut up in his room, he put her backpack down on the bed and looked at her, now at a loss as of what to do. It was obvious that they were both dead tired. He would gladly give up his bed for her, but he had to figure out what to do with himself. He knew what he would like to do ideally, but being realistic, he figured that sleeping on the floor would be even too much to ask, so sleeping out on the couch would probably be his only option. The problem would be explaining that one to his parents in the morning. Apparently Angie was wondering many of the same things.

"So how do you want to do this? I can just curl up on the floor if you want," she whispered to him.

"Hey, the bed's here, you might as well use it," he offered. "Just tell me where you want me. I don't want to weird you out."

She just looked at him as she thought about it. Finally she said, "I trust you," and left it at that.

The comment made Eli swallow hard. He watched her reaction to make sure that she was saying what he thought she was saying.

"Can you at least turn around?" she asked him, taking hold of her back pack.

Eli obliged. He too wanted to change back into his sleepwear. He tried really hard to keep facing forward as he removed his jeans and pulled an old t-shirt over his head. He could hear the backpack zipper and the rustle of clothing behind him, and then the slight squeak of his bed.

"Okay," she whispered.

Eli turned around. She was already in the corner of his bed, a blanket over her legs. Slowly, he crawled in beside her.

"My bed's not as big as yours," he said, trying to get in, "you have to share." They awkwardly tried to manoeuvre until at last Eli put his arm behind her neck and she nestled in beside him, her head cupped between his shoulder and his chest. Eli breathed deeply a few times. It was hard to believe that this was happening. He just wished that he wasn't so tired. Neither of them knew who the first to fall asleep was; they both succumbed to it so quickly.

At eight-thirty in the morning, there was a loud knock on Eli's door, startling the occupants of his bed. There was hardly enough time for Eli and Angie to realize what was going on before Nelson Perdit casually opened the bedroom door, "Eli –"

Angie dove under the covers as Eli sat up. Nelson stopped in his tracks, even in mid breath, and backed out of the room, slamming the door shut.

Eli started to chuckle and then lifted the blanket to find Angie bunched down.

"This is bad, isn't it?" she said worriedly to him

Eli just smiled and continued chuckling. He wasn't embarrassed by anything. Why should he be?

Angie had the look of utmost guilt all over her face. It made Eli smile so wide that the sides of his mouth hurt.

"They won't care," he said, trying to reassure her.

It didn't look like she believed him.

Eli got up, leaving her to change in her own time, while he went and smoothed things over with his parents. His younger brother and sister were already firmly planted in on the couch watching morning cartoons. Meanwhile, his parents were sitting seriously at the kitchen table. Eli strolled in casually, saying good morning to them both as he took out a glass from the cupboard and filled it with juice. His parents just stared at him. When they did finally speak, they did so with as little English as they could manage.

"What exactly were you up to last night?" Nelson asked his son.

Eli guzzled down his juice, completely unashamed, and then proceeded to explain the whole story of how Angie had called him while at Kimmy's party, mostly embellishing the threat that Wyatt posed upon her, and adding that Angie had essentially been kicked out of her own house for the weekend due to Amanda Pochoda's alternative activities. He also reassured them that nothing had happened between her and himself. They were both dead tired and sleeping was the only thing going on at night.

Although Mr. and Mrs. Perdit had no reason to doubt their son's honesty, they were still facing a situation that they were unsure of how to handle. Firstly, there was Angie herself and her mother; though it seemed unlikely that her mother would be highly critical of her daughter spending the night, there was still the factor of it having been done without permission. Then there was the matter of their own son. Eli was a good kid and he had a bright future ahead of him, but his obvious obsession could only cause him more trouble than it was worth - not that Angie wasn't a nice girl herself, but there were mostly likely a few things that a girl like her wouldn't be prepared for in taking on a Quileute boy.

Matters didn't improve much over breakfast when Angie joined them at the table; especially with Gabby trying to openly figure out when exactly Angie had arrived. Mrs. Perdit tried to hush her daughter and change the subject, but Gabby always seemed to return to the same questions that just weren't being answered. Eli just kept smiling to himself, finding all of the fuss that everyone was making to be nothing less than humorous. Even Angie was sinking in her chair, trying not to look anyone in the eye. Eli's smug expression wasn't helping. Thankfully he didn't keep her trapped at the table for long. The two of them went out for a walk just to put some distance between them and the kitchen table. Eli walked with an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close, warm and secure.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she lied.

"Look, seriously, they don't care. I told them the whole thing. They know that nothing happened. And let's say that it even did, it wouldn't matter. My parents are cool that way."

"No, I know. It's just been weird...everything."

"Wyatt," Eli guessed with a sigh.

"Yeah."

"You're done now, right? I mean, you can't think about going back."

"I think I've hit my breaking point."

Eli was relieved for the moment, but he needed to know for sure that she was going to follow through with this and not just change her mind upon confrontation as she so often did. Angie did promise him that Monday she was officially disassociating herself with him, and after school that day, Eli stopped by her house to see that it was done.

He was surprised yet very much glad to find her in such high spirits. Apparently Wyatt had pretty much figured what was coming and didn't make a big deal about it, at least not publically. It was only Kimmy who was frantically trying to find a way to save the relationship, more for her own sake than anything else. Eli laughed when he heard this.

"But it's over for sure?" he asked her.

"I'd say pretty definitely."

"Thank God for that." They were both sitting on the edge of her bed. He leaned over and caught her off guard as he tried to kiss her.

Angie jumped up to her feet.

"Eli, please don't do this!"

Eli was deflated. "Yeah, I know the timing's not probably not great, but give me a break here, I've been trying."

"I know," she said, which surprised him. "I just can't do this with you. It wouldn't be right."

No blow could have hit him harder. He always did worry in the back of his mind that the racial difference might play a part between them, but he never fully expected her to play that card on him, not after everything. How could she toy with him like that? His smile had melted and he was completely speechless.

But Angie wasn't finished her thought. "I trust you too much," she concluded.

Eli's head perked up. He got to his feet. "What do you mean, you trust me too much?"

"Come on, you know that you're like the only guy I trust – that I've ever trusted. You know more about me than anyone, and I don't know why, I don't know why you, but it is, and I don't want anything to ruin that. You know what happens when things like _this_ start up; it gets weird and then there's not even any point in being friends again. I don't want things to get weird; I've got enough weird in my life. And I don't want all of _this_ to go away."

"Ange," he didn't know if he wanted to shake some sense into her or just kiss her on the spot right now, "I would never want _this_ to go away either. I don't think we could ruin it, not like this anyway. I can just picture you settling for one loser after another, proving to yourself that all guys are jerks, the whole while the guy who's actually there for you sits on the sidelines. What's the point of waiting around for someone you don't trust? "

"Eli," she began.

"No," he interrupted, "Ange, I don't know if you've realized, but I've been crazy about you, I _am_ crazy about you. Somewhere you must have figured that out. On some level, I even think that you must like me too, otherwise you wouldn't keep coming back to me. If you're going to turn me down, at least give me a good reason for it, because from where I'm standing I don't any reason not to do this."

He was standing with only inches between them. Angie wouldn't look at him.

"Eli, you don't want me. At least you shouldn't. If you know me well enough then you know that I'm not made for this whole thing. I'd drive you crazy."

"You already drive me crazy. I know you well enough to know that you're kidding yourself. What would being with me change? Honestly? We hang out all the time. We can at least tolerate each other's friends...to a point. We like the same things," he listed.

"And then there's expectations, and obligations, and..."

"And we don't ever have to do what we don't want to do. I don't know what kind of crazy white-girl system you've got going on on the other side, but those rules don't apply here. We make up our own rules as we go. Even if nothing changed at least I'd have the satisfaction of knowing that some other jerk-face white guy isn't going to make you feel like crap all of the time." He took a few breaths from his rant. "Could we at least give it a shot? If it's weird, then we forget that it ever happened and just be friends. I mean, I still need someone to watch _Carl_ with me; he has very few loyal followers around here."

That was able to settle the mood a little and get her to at least breakout half a smile. She was still staring at the floor thinking. Eli waited, hovering over her, for her to answer. He wished that she would at least say something. Not knowing what she was thinking was driving him insane. He had laid everything out on the table. There was nothing more he could do but wait for her to make the first move. She was standing so still. Was she even still breathing? Then she looked up, but Eli didn't even have time to process the look on her face because within the same second she had met his lips and it was the warmest, deepest, and sweetest thing he'd ever experienced in his life. He was afraid to breathe for ruining it. Finally she opened her eyes and they separated. She was now looking at him, all of her breath catching up to her.

"I don't know about you," Eli said, a smile creeping onto his face, "but I thought that was pretty good."

She bowed her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her head. She always found his warmth to be so comforting. She latched onto his t-shirt and just clutched the fabric in her hands. He rubbed her back, not letting go of her until she was ready to face the world again.

"Okay," she finally said.

"Okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay."

Eli could breathe again.

END OF PHASE ONE


	12. Phase Two: Being Merry

Phase Two:

Chapter One: Being Merry

Eli was hunched over his calculus homework. Jennifer and Cameron were also on Eli's bedroom floor trying to get through their midterm reviews. Spence had been stuck at an aunt's wedding, and Joel seemed to have fallen off of the face of the earth. His parents had to make arrangements for Joel to take leave from school for the rest of the year and repeat the grade next fall because of mono. The questions raised about how Joel got the kissing disease in the first place ran wild during those first few weeks. At least wherever he was, he didn't have to worry about midterms.

Angie felt out of place complaining about geometry while those around her were dealing with formulas she couldn't even begin to understand. Eli was good about it, but sometimes in an annoying way. He'd look down at her page for only a second and see something done wrong. He'd tap it with the end of his pencil to draw her attention to it. He had her redo just about every question, but would never give her any helpful hints about the solutions. She'd get frustrated and sigh heavily, which made him break out into his cheesy smile, and that only made her more frustrated. Convinced that he was just giving her a hard time for his own amusement, Angie checked the back of the book to see the answers.

"Well?" he asked her, having noticed what she had done.

She just glared at him. She _was _getting them all wrong.

"Eli, what the hell?" Cameron complained, "You're even fighting like a couple now."

Jennifer slapped his knee.

Angie felt self-conscious again and leaned back further into the wall.

Eli made a gesture. Angie didn't see what it was, but she could have guessed. Cameron and Spence were both prone to making comments since Eli and her made it official. They weren't doing it to make Angie feel uncomfortable; they were just having fun harassing Eli about being tied down now – though they all admitted that Eli was bound to her from the very start. When Eli had first held Angie's hand in front of them they simultaneously cried "finally!" and then carried on as if nothing had changed. In truth, very little had changed other than a weight lifted off of Angie's shoulders. Eli tried very hard to keep to his promise about nothing changing. He didn't treat her lovey-dovey or even use the terms "boyfriend" or "girlfriend". It was as if to Eli, this whole thing was the most natural thing in the world. She was his Ange. He still came to her basketball games, though he was less concerned about watching for Wyatt or any other person for that matter. Angie also stopped worrying about the _table_. She and Lauren Vargas were fine as they were just sitting in quiet corners, trying not to overhear the drama that ensued when Kimmy was nearly ejected from the table with Kevin's making-out with another girl. Luckily, Kimmy was able to recover quickly and found herself in good favour with Jackson, the track runner. Wyatt seemed to be moving on – at least, he didn't bother trying to talk to Angie much other than what was necessary to get by in school.

When it came to weekends, Angie tried to avoid staying in Forks as much as possible. Eli was, of course, ever obliging. He wanted to spend as little time in Forks as well – Angie's house didn't count. The routine, therefore, hadn't changed very much, but things were different too. The amount of self-consciousness with being around each other faded. Eli didn't have to pre-think about putting his arm around her, and neither did Angie have to worry about what he would think if she put her head on his shoulder. So Eli always had an arm around her, and Angie would always press herself as near to him as she could. And, of course, they kissed, and neither of them felt guilty for it. Things couldn't have been more perfect.

The only place where tension rose was among the parents. Mr and Mrs Perdit still had their usual concerns. Angie was a nice girl, but they didn't want their son to get hurt or distracted by being with her. Amanda Pochoda never said anything directly negative about the new couple, but she'd ask nearly everyday if they were still together, as if waiting for a change in the news. Worse, was when her mom would keep asking about Wyatt. Only once did she do this in front of Eli, after which Angie went on a tirade that Eli had to calm down. Angie didn't like being questioned about her decisions. And Eli was one of those decisions that were hard to explain. It felt right, and that's all there was to it. People just didn't seem to understand it.

There were, however, certain thoughts that crept up every now and then that Angie couldn't resolve on her own. And just as with math homework, she seemed to go in circles with it while Eli could look at it once and have everything figured out. College, for example. Eli had already begun applications, which was good that he knew what he wanted and was really focused on getting there, but Angie was a year behind him. Surely he'd go off and start a new amazing life, which would be great and he deserved it so much, but then Angie would still be here, and what was she supposed to do? She asked Eli dozens of times if he wanted to call things off by summer so that it would be easiest on everyone. Eli just smiled and shook his head in disbelief at her constant fear of the inevitable. He was too confident.

"It's only Seattle," he'd say. "It's no more of a pain in the butt than going to Forks to pick you up every weekend."

"Yeah, but, there's all the city stuff to do there, and you'll have a new group of friends and a lot of papers to write," she'd list pessimistically.

He'd shake his head and smile again.

"Stop worrying so much," he'd say.

She'd huff because she knew that it was impossible for her to stop worrying about anything, especially when the welfare and sanity of another person was on the line.

Eli'd just recite _the plan_ to her. They could both do what they wanted to do, go where they wanted to go, and be successful enough that being able to see each other wouldn't be so hard. Normally when people talked about future things, Angie would instantly feel overwhelmed and very nervous. She still felt very overwhelmed and nervous when thinking about her own future, but somehow when Eli broke it down, it didn't seem so bad – it was only petrifying to think about what would happen if Eli's plan didn't work out. She was used to disappointment and constant change, so how could she trust that everything Eli said was going to happen? He never made promises, but he sounded as confident as if he had. On top of that, he could always make her feel at ease just by putting an arm around her. She had become very dependent on that arm and often hid into it on her own accord. She had very few safe places, but this was definitely one of the safest she'd ever had. Eli would let her linger there forever if she wanted to. In fact, he'd prefer it if she did.

Christmas break was coming. As exams were beginning, the basketball games were coming to an end until the New Year. The good news was that there would be two weeks of holidays. Everyone was getting excited about the break, so many people had plans to get out of Forks, have a big family Christmas, or do something really exciting during the holidays. Angie was one of the very few children who never got very excited about Christmas. It was different every year, sometimes it would be a quiet day just her and her mom eating Chinese food in front of holiday specials on TV. Sometimes there would be the large Christmas dinner and the fancy tree with presents everywhere, but those were usually at the boyfriend's house or, as most often happened, at the boyfriend's parents' house. The excitement never quiet grew past the awkwardness and artificiality of the celebration. But this year was going to be different. This year Angie was going to have a real family Christmas. All it took was for Angie to confess to Maggie Perdit that she and her mother usually had quiet Christmases; not a minute later Mrs Perdit was insisting that Angie have a good wholesome Christmas. The invitation couldn't have come a moment sooner.

The night of the last day of school, Eli was over for dinner, along with Ryan, the cable guy. It was good that Eli could keep with the sports talk, even though Angie was certain that he was faking most of his half of the conversation since she had never witnessed him actually sit down and watch more than a couple of broadcasts. Ryan was young, and even acted young in a way that far surpassed Doug's capabilities, but he wasn't as know-it-all immature the way that Doug had always been. Ryan was a college graduate, planning on going back to school once he earned enough money. No one could fault him for that, however, he still lived with his parents. Eli had that faithful smirk on his face the whole time. It was obvious, at least to Angie, that he was holding parental dependence over this guy's head. True enough that Eli still lived at home, but that was different, he was still in high school, and he fully intended to do as much on his own as he could once he was off in university.

It came up during this semi-awkward dinner that Amanda and her daughter would be invited for Christmas dinner. Both Angie and Eli stopped chewing at that moment and looked at each other. Eli was quick to come to the rescue by gulping down what he had and announcing that his mother had already given Angie an invitation. Angie just smiled sheepishly in acknowledgement. She could see the disappointment in her mother's eyes. Amanda didn't like meeting parents alone; they never seemed to get along very well with her, and at least by bringing her daughter, people were willing to be more civil and tolerant. Angie figured that it was about time that her mother started facing her fears. After all, it would only be a year before she too would be free to leave home and go to college somewhere. There was also the hope that this relationship her mother started wouldn't last too long; Angie was starting to like being in Forks, and she didn't want to have to move yet.

Amanda really had no choice but to accept that her daughter wouldn't be with her on Christmas Day. Even though Amanda was invited to the Perdits', she wouldn't choose to be there over the cable guy. Ryan himself didn't seem to mind either way. It was probably weird for him to have someone Angie's age be as a step-daughter to him. Doug had certainly never gotten used to it.

Throughout the break, Amanda kept repeating the offer, just in case her daughter changed her mind about Christmas. It only made Angie more determined to stick close with Eli, not only around Christmas, but the days leading up to it. He took her Christmas shopping with him up in the city. She'd never done proper Christmas shopping before and she didn't really know what was expected of her. Eli tried to enjoy the Seattle escape and hold the shopping in the background. He was good at keeping her distracted when she tried to worry herself over the trivial things. He'd pull her in close to him, kiss her hard on the lips, and wrap his arms around her waist, not caring who was watching or what anyone thought. People seemed to care less here than in Forks, so Angie was able to fall into the moment much easier.

When he dropped her off at home, Angie, after thinking about it for a few hours, invited him in. Eli checked the time. It was almost midnight. If he wanted to get home in one piece without falling asleep at the wheel, he wouldn't be able to stay long. But he wasn't even able to express this idea before he clued in that maybe he wasn't supposed to drive home tonight. He followed Angie's cues, a role reversal from how she normally acted, and just let things happen as they did. He followed her quietly into her room, shutting the door gently behind him. He turned to see her standing at the foot of her bed, staring down at the floor. She was having second thoughts. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

"You're tired," he said to her, stroking her hair.

She kissed him as though it was consolation.

He sat her down on the bed. "I can go if you want," he said, though he expected her answer.

"But I don't want you to."

He kicked off his shoes and turned around.

Angie looked up at him puzzled. "You want to go?" she asked, surprised and a little worried about his conduct.

Eli gave a light chuckle, and even though she couldn't see his face, she knew that his faithful smirk was planted on his face. For someone who could be so predictable, he was hard to read.

"Just get your PJ's on," he said.

She wasn't expecting this kind of reaction. Why wasn't he all over her? Wasn't this what every guy on the face of the planet wanted? What was she doing wrong?

"Eli?" she said, pulling her top over her.

"Yeah?" he replied, still facing away.

"You don't think of me in that way, do you?"

"What?"

"I mean, I know that we do stuff, but, I dunno, it's just different with you."

"How do you mean, different?" he asked with concern.

"You never try anything."

There was that smirk again, she could feel it.

"Ange, just because a guy doesn't try to maul you, doesn't mean he doesn't think about it."

"So you do? Think about it?" she asked.

He must have been nothing but his cheesy wide smile now. He stumbled on his words. "I try to control myself," he finally said.

"I'm changed," she announced, and she was.

He undid his pants and took off his shirt. When he was just in his boxers, he flicked off the light and carefully found his way to the bed in the darkness. He crawled in and found her under the covers.

"And yes," he said as if they had still been in the middle of the conversation, "I think about it. Probably more than you'd want to know."

"And?"

"And I'm not gonna make you do something you don't wanna do."

"You made me go out with you," she pointed out.

"I said something you _don't_ wanna do. If you want it, you bet I'm going to force it on you, no matter what you say," he joked.

She kissed him gently.

"I like to think that I worked pretty hard to get you," he said a little quieter and much more seriously. "I'm not gonna lose you by doing something stupid. I promised you that all guys weren't jerks, I kinda have to live up to that now."

"But what about when you feel ready?" she asked him.

"I'm not ready 'til you are. I'm in no rush."

She kissed him again and inched her way until she was snuggled up on top of him.

"I don't know if I'm ready," she confessed.

He gave her a squeeze and rolled her onto her side again. "Well, you're not tonight, I can tell you that for sure. But, in all seriousness, when you are, maybe just give me a heads up."

"You need advanced notice?" she asked.

"Not to get my head in the game or anything," he said, adopting her lingo to make the subject easier to talk about. "I just think that maybe it might be a good idea to be a little better equipped. I don't know about you, but, uh, I haven't exactly been keeping stock."

Angie giggled and kissed the side of his mouth. It was so cute the way he tried. "Well," she said, "maybe consider yourself notified." His hand that was on her shoulder stopped moving. "I don't mean for like tomorrow or anything, but maybe soon."

Her hand waited softly on his bare chest for his inhalation, but his breath seemed to be held. Then finally it all seemed to intake quickly and come out as almost a sigh. "Okay," he said. He kissed her forehead and pulled the blanket up over her shoulder. He held her in his arms as she fell asleep. Even in the dark he was able to admire their contrasting skin. It was as if she glowed there against him. He lie there awake a little longer simply trying to figure out when this life became his and how he could ever have gotten so fortunate. He finally drifted off to sleep with his lips still pressed against Angie's head and his arm wrapped securely around her.

This was something that Eli would not have the good fortune of making a habit of yet. Even bringing Angie home the day before Christmas he was strictly told by his parents that he was to share a room with his brother for the night. Eli rolled his eyes at this but he would obey his parents. They were rarely strict about anything, so anything they chose to be particular about was usually worth going along with. Because of this, however, Eli was determined to let the day stretch on and not go to bed.

It was a long day of decorating, baking, cleaning, and monitoring the Santa Watch. Finally the kids were going off to bed, one by one, as Eli sat on the couch with Angie curled up beside him, watching the last bit of the _Christmas Carol_. His father sat watchfully in his lazy-chair as his mother was still fiddling about in the kitchen. When the movie had finished and the credits were rolling, Nelson Perdit gave his son a nod which spoke an entire paragraph of lecturing. It was time to let Angie go off to bed, alone, and for Eli to do the same, alone. Eli did as he was told by that nod. He led Angie by the hand to his room to say goodnight. He kissed her and couldn't stop. It seemed like only a second had gone by, but he heard his father call his name from the hallway. He squeezed Angie one last time, as if it would be forever before they saw each other again. His father called again. Eli broke his grip.

"Good night," he whispered to her.

"Night," she said, giving him a little wave as he shut the door behind him on his way out.

Nelson watched as his son marched from the one bedroom door to the other. Eli held up his hands as though to surrender. As he passed his father, Nelson griped his son's shoulder in one brisk yet firm action. It was another dialogue between them that required no words_. "Be good,"_ it said. _"I'm trusting you."_ Eli didn't find it fair. He _was_ being good. He _was _completely trustworthy. He lowered himself onto the air mattress on Matthew's bedroom floor, his little brother already asleep with a gurgling snore that would last all night. Eli couldn't sleep for waking up every hour or so, thinking about how likely he'd be able to escape this room and move into another? He loved his family, but they were definitely capable of some really annoying things.

Eli's sleep was abruptly disrupted by Gabby running into the room, half tripping over him on the floor, giddily trying to wake up Matthew. Christmas morning excitement stirred both of the children to be wide awake, even at six in the morning. Both siblings tripped over Eli as they ran back to the hallway to tear open their stockings. Slowly Eli got up, stretching himself out from the uncomfortable makeshift bed. When he got up to use the bathroom, he saw his parents slowly making their way towards the coffee machine in the kitchen. Eli changed course. Rather than head into the living room, he went back to his bedroom. His mother spotted him.

"It's where my clothes are," he said in defence. She let him go, but was still watchful. He opened the door quietly. Angie rolled over and smiled at him. She was awake, probably from the high pitch squealing that Gabby was doing as she ran up and down the hallway. He knelt down at the bedside. She touched his face and kissed him. He slid his arm under her head, and as they kissed, he inched his way up onto the bed. Already Eli was telling himself that this was the best Christmas ever.

There was a faint knock at the door. Time was up. Eli huffed and grabbed a change of clothes quickly from his drawers. When he left the room, he walked with his clothes held outwards, proof that he had done what he set out to do. When he changed, Angie was already out and dressed too. Gabby had brought her a stocking filled with candy, lipchaps and little soccer-themed trinkets.

Nelson was in the kitchen, preparing potatoes for Christmas breakfast. A huge meal was going to be prepared before it was time to open presents because the Perdits always had a large family celebration. Eli's grandfather would be coming over for breakfast, bringing along Daniel and their cousins. Eli tried to keep a friendly attitude when his older brother arrived, but it was difficult to do. It was easier to try to ignore him than to pretend to be nice to him. Randy and Holden, who were also now living with their grandfather, were given a slightly warmer reception, but Eli was quick to consider them all to be in the same category. The only one Eli didn't resent was his grandfather. It was as if he was the leader of the lost Perdit boys. It didn't seem fair for everyone to just drop their problems on his doorstep.

Angie felt Eli's tension, but tried to remain unbiased as the cousins introduced themselves and Daniel tried to make conversation with her. The only thing that she found eerie was the way that they smirked. It was like a reflection of Eli's smile, but there was an undertone that they couldn't quite seem to hide. Daniel especially. He was ever watchful. He was polite and courteous, obviously trying to make up for the stories that Angie had heard about him in the past, but he was always analyzing the people in the room. His eye often fell onto Eli, who wouldn't return the glance. The smirk he had when he looked at Eli was one of knowing. Angie didn't like it.

Everyone sat piled in the living room, even though there weren't enough seats. Gabby and Matthew sat on the floor, as did Randy and Holden who were being friendly and playing with the kids. Despite Eli's tension, Angie did find herself getting lost in the family atmosphere. Taking in the events of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was surreal to her. It was what Christmas should always be. It saddened her to think that she might not get many moments like this. She wondered if Eli appreciated it anywhere near as much as she did. Even when some of them slipped into Quillayute, Angie was so absorbed in what was going on and what was being said. Close family bonds that she had never known were such a part of the Perdit household. She wished that Eli could just let go of his tension for one day; it would make everything so much more perfect. But he didn't. Even through dinner he would avoid so much as passing the salt to his older brother if he could help it.

As the evening drew on, the adults, including Daniel, were in dining room, still talking. Holden and Randy seemed to have more energy than even Gabby did and so kept the kids occupied for a long while. They kept asking Eli to come down, but Eli wouldn't. At one point he even just left the room to avoid saying something he might regret. Angie was awkwardly stuck in the middle of everything.

Eli splashed some water on his face and tried to breathe right. Why couldn't they all just leave already? Why did his brother have to be here to ruin everything? When he came back out to join the crowd, everyone was now in the living room, the games having been put away, and Moses Perdit settling into the lazy-chair. It was tradition. Eli's grandfather always told a story on important occasions. Eli scanned the room; everyone had taken a position around the storyteller. Angie was still sitting on the corner of the couch. Daniel was sitting beside her, talking quietly to her, translating the Quillayute the way that Eli usually did for her. Eli took a stand by the couch, just staring down his brother. Daniel stared back, evaluating the situation with very subtle movements of his eyes. Eli wasn't certain how stubborn Daniel was going to be about this, but he prepared himself for the worst of it. But Daniel simply glanced smoothly over at the girl beside her and then gave up his seat. Eli threw himself into his brother's former place and swung his arm behind Angie. He tried to focus on the story. It was one that he'd heard many times before. His grandfather always told it the same way. The character's voices were always the same, the animal sounds always done in a predictable rhythm, and his voice flowing softly like a windsong. His grandfather's voice was always something comforting. With the story going on in the background and Angie pressed up next to him, Eli was actually feeling as though he might be able to relax, at least a little bit. Angie gently brought her hand up to his face. He turned slightly and kissed her palm. He thought that she was being comforting, so when he turned her hand to shake off his affections, he was confused. She placed her hand back on his face, just lightly pushing on his cheek.

"Are you feeling okay?" she whispered to him.

He had just wet his face. It probably felt like he had been sweating. It was sweet of her to worry. He just smiled at her and told her that he was fine.

"You feel warm," she added.

"You always say that I'm warm," he whispered back to her.

"No, like really warm," she insisted.

Eli felt his own temperature, but he felt perfectly fine.

"Even your arms," she added worriedly.

"I'm fine."

Maybe he did feel a little warm, but it was nothing to worry about. All his frustration was probably just sending all of his blood to his head.

"What's this?" Daniel asked aloud, interrupting the story, which caused his grandfather to pause and everyone's attention to fall onto Eli.

"Nothing," Eli said.

"He just feels really warm, like he has a hot fever," Angie explained.

"I don't, trust me," Eli said, starting to get more frustrated. Why must his brother try to make a scene out of everything.

Daniel got up and extended a hand to feel Eli for himself, but Eli swatted his brother away. "Will you just stop?" he shouted.

Daniel took an aggressive stance.

Moses Perdit called Eli by name, followed by a few short words Angie didn't understand. Obviously it was meant to stop the impending fight and keep the two boys away from killing each other. Nelson moved in on his own father's words and flattened his hand against his middle son's forehead.

"I'm fine," Eli argued.

"Daniel," Nelson said in his perpetually calm voice, "I think it might be a good idea for Angie to go back home."

It was adding insult to injury. Eli felt fine. Sending Angie away because of a little headache wasn't worth the trouble. Above everything, Nelson was handing his oldest son the car keys. Why him? If anyone was going to take Angie home, it would be Eli himself. She was _his_ girlfriend; _he_ was the one who was going to take care of her, and in no world would be ever leave Angie in the hands of his brother. This was the guy who would trip out violently in front of Matthew and Gabby! Now they just give him the car keys? As if he'd even be a safe driver! How could they just all forget what Daniel really was? He hadn't changed - he just needed an opportunity. And what had Eli done? What made it so crucial that everyone's attention be turned on him? He was the _good_ son!

Angie didn't want to make any trouble, so she just grabbed her backpack from the bedroom and followed the Perdits' orders. Randy and Holden were holding Eli back. He was furious in a way that no one had ever seen from him before. Eli figured that he had every right to be. They weren't even letting him say goodbye to her. They were just shoving her out the door. His mother had ushered Gabby and Matthew to her own bedroom where they could watch TV without worrying about grownup stuff.

Eli was fighting his cousins off of him. They had strong grips, but Eli was too angry to feel it. It wasn't until they saw the car's taillights disappear down the street that everyone finally backed away from him.

"What the hell!" Eli cried out. He then proceeded to curse with every word he knew, both English and Quillayute.

His father was trying to explain things in his calm way, but Eli wasn't even listening. He stomped down to his room. His father was trying to keep pace and get his son to stop and listen, but he wouldn't. Nelson grabbed his son's arm, but Eli swung it out of his father's grip so hard that he hit the hall wall with enough force that his elbow had gone through it. He hardly felt it, but he heard the sound that the wall made as it broke and the pictures on the wall falling, causing the glass to shatter. His parents' bedroom door squeaked open about an inch – just enough for two little faces to see what was going on. Eli pulled his arm out of the wall and watched his siblings with a fixed stare. His breath had left him. Eli had been in this scene before, but now he was playing a different role, and it scared him.


	13. Phase Two:A Bit of Cold

Chapter Two: A Bit of Cold

Angie sat in the old familiar car with a most unfamiliar person. She practically glued herself to the passenger window, wanting Eli there more than ever. Daniel was trying to be calm and pleasant, but the fact that he wasn't the least bit concerned with what just happened with his brother made Angie feel sick to her stomach.

"I wouldn't worry about him too much," he said casually. "It's common for guys his age, for _us _anyway."

"What is it?" Angie didn't really want to perpetuate conversation with this person, but he was all she was left with to get answers. "What happened? Is he sick or something?"

"He'll have the fever for a while. It'll take a lot out of him. He'll probably miss a lot of school. Don't be surprised if you don't see him for a while."

"Why bother with me, then? Why isn't anyone rushing him to the hospital?" she surprised herself by how forcefully she demanded that question, but it was serious.

"He'll be taken care of, don't worry. There're specialists in the rez."

"You still haven't told me what it is."

"I don't know what you'd call it in English. Would it make any difference if I gave you _our_ word for it? It's a fever; it happens to our kind. Immunity systems get kinda shot sometimes. I hear there're about six guys at Eli's school with all sorts of things: everything from tonsillitis to meningitis. Joel got mono. You know Joel, right?"

Angie nodded.

"Eli might even have that. I'd take it easy for a few days if I were you, just to be on the safe side," he suggested.

Logically Angie should have been worried out her own health after that kind of warning, but she just couldn't think of anything other than how arrogant he was being about this whole thing. It was like he knew so much better than anyone, like it was child's play, when Eli could be in serious trouble. Angie had never seen Eli get so out of control. A part of her began to wonder if his brother had something to do with it. Maybe he'd spiked something and Eli took it unknowingly. Eli had told her about Daniel's violent outbursts. Eli's nerves were already being tested with Daniel just being around. If, even as a joke, Daniel had slipped something to his brother that would be enough to send Eli over the edge. The thought made her feel even sicker.

"You alright? You don't look so hot," he said.

"I'm fine. I'm just disgusted by the way that you can't even find some compassion for your own brother. It's like you actually enjoy tormenting him. What did he ever do to you? I know that all you've ever done is disappoint him. He told me how he used to look up to you. He used to think of you as a hero. He can't even stand to be around you anymore. And I don't blame him. I've never met anyone so disconnected from human feeling. You play it up, but really you don't care for anyone but yourself. Why don't you just get a life and let everyone else move on because you obviously don't care about what happens to them!" she couldn't believe she actually said all of that aloud. It didn't exactly feel good to say it, but Eli wasn't there to say it himself, so she said it on his behalf.

Daniel was quiet. The Perdit smirk had melted into a grimace. He pulled the car hard over onto the shoulder and stopped.

"You wanna get out of the car now?" he shouted.

Angie stayed silent. If he asked her again, she would get out. She'd rather walk then let him feel proud about himself.

He pulled back onto the road, eyes fixed straight ahead. He turned up the radio so loud that he wouldn't be able to hear her even if she did decide to speak. They ignored each other the rest of the way. It was better for them to sit there, silently fuming at one another. Angie couldn't wait to get out of the car any more so than Daniel was willing to wait for her to get to her front door. The moment she shut the passenger door he looped the car back around and was down the gravel drive way, consumed by the dense trees.

The first thing Angie did was call Eli's cell. It was turned off so she texted him, asking if he was okay and that he should call her back immediately. She placed her phone on her pillow and slept next to it, ready to grab it in an instant should it ring. It didn't. In the morning she tried again, but the result was the same. She called the house. Mr. Perdit answered the phone. Angie spoke so quickly that all of her words jumbled together into one incoherent ramble. Nelson must have known what she was calling about because he answered instinctively while Angie was in the middle of speaking.

_"His grandfather took him to the doctor last night. He's still there. I'll have Eli call you when he's feeling better."_

That was it. Long after he'd hung up the phone, Angie still sat there with her mouth agape. Something wasn't right. It wasn't just about Eli's fever, something serious was happening. Why wouldn't they tell her what it is?

She couldn't focus. She kept her phone with her as if it was her life-support. At the slightest sound she checked it, though often it was just the TV or even the microwave beeping. Her perfect holiday had become one of the worst ones. How could she be festive and merry when Eli was in trouble?

This was it, she realized, finally willing to admit it to herself. She wasn't just upset because Eli was sick, she was upset because she loved him, and maybe that's why something had to happen to him – bad things happen when you let yourself love someone. It was too late to take it back. She had no choice but keep calling, waiting and seeing what was going on.

New Year. Eli was still sick. Angie wasn't allowed to visit; he was supposedly contagious. His parents would pass on the message, but they said that she shouldn't worry herself too much. Eli needed plenty of rest. He probably wouldn't be able to see her for a few weeks.

"What is it?" she asked. "What does he have?"

They'd give her a list of symptoms, but they never named the illness. It's common, they said, at least for their _kind_. This frustrated Angie to no end. What _kind_? They were just as human as she was! What did it matter that he was a Quileute? If it was something only contagious to them, why couldn't Angie go near him? Why couldn't they at least tell her which hospital he was at? For all she knew, they flew him out of the state for care. Why couldn't he at least say one word on the phone? That was it, just one word was all Angie wanted. She just needed to know that he was actually alive somewhere, that he hadn't disappeared off of the face of the planet, or that she hadn't just invented these past months' worth of memories.

Angie couldn't stand to have a New Year's celebration with her infatuated mother. Lauren was her only hope for some peace. A quiet New Year's at her house with her father and grandmother as well as several of her grandmother's friends. There was an abundance of little finger sandwiches and domino games, but most of the party had fallen asleep hours before midnight. Angie watched every second count down on TV. She sent Eli another text. _Happy New Year_. He probably didn't even have his phone with him, wherever he was. Her only consolation was school. Not that Angie wanted to go back to school, but it meant that Eli would have to show up eventually if was going to graduate this year.

She continued to call the Perdit house, but the answers were always the same, vague and short, telling her nothing except that Eli still wasn't home and should be fine in a few more weeks. She needed more proof then that. She'd find excuses to go into La Push and bike by his school and to his house. She never saw him, but his parents always gave her the same story. Mrs Perdit would invite her in, give her some tea and chat, mostly about anything other than her son. Angie would excuse herself to use the bathroom, just to sneak a peek at Eli's room. He really hadn't been around. The bed looked just as it did when Angie last slept in it. In the bathroom, his toothbrush was dry. What was going on? The more she thought about it, the more serious she began to take it. Maybe it wasn't just a fever. Maybe it was something much worse. Angie didn't know much about biology or the way that diseases worked, but she pieced together the behaviour she saw at Christmas and what was going on now. Maybe it was serious, very serious. She thought about Daniel. He had been sent away for a long time without seeing the family. Eli said that his parents never talked about it. Maybe it wasn't drugs. Maybe it was easier not to name what it was. People with cancer often act strange because of the chemical changes in their bodies. A fever could easily be a sign of something already too far gone. Maybe that's why Daniel had to disappear. He needed treatment and to talk about it would make it too real. Maybe that's why they reacted so quickly to Eli. Even if Eli didn't have it, leaving it unchecked would be dangerous. How long did those kinds of tests take? Where could you even get them done? Angie felt horrified by this realization. What if she never saw him again? Maybe no one wanted Angie to know because they thought she'd leave him, break his heart while he was down. Some girls wouldn't be able to handle that kind of drama. Angie would. She'd do anything for him, even if it meant just waiting and seeing.

At first Angie figured that no one noticed the change in her, except Lauren, of course, who didn't talk about it much, especially while at school. On Thursday nights Lauren still came by Angie's house to watch _Carl_, though mostly it was to fill the void of Eli not being there. Angie said that she was grateful, but really it just reinforced that someone was missing. She'd nestle up into a pillow on the couch, but it was never as warm as she wanted it to be. Some nights she even put a hot water bottle under her pillow to have next to her, but it only made her cry at night.

Within a month, people at school were beginning to talk. Eli hadn't been to any of the practices or games, he hadn't been waiting to pick her up from school on Fridays, and he hadn't been a part of her conversation. No one had the nerve to ask her outright, but eventually Angie was hearing the rumours about her. The question on everyone's mind was: who dumped who? In either case, it appeared that Wyatt was gradually making himself available again. He started making a little more conversation with Angie every day. By the beginning of February, he had implied an invitation to come sit at _the table_ again.

Finally Angie just blurted out, "Wyatt! I'm not interested!" and stormed off to her classroom half an hour early. Her frustration wasn't perceived as literal; it aroused more sympathy than anything, which she found even more frustrating. Her boyfriend was sick, not a deadbeat! She'd been by his house often enough to know that – though Eli's room had been cleaned up a bit by his mother, it was definitely not being lived in. It was getting to be all too much. As days passed, Angie could only think about how much Eli was missing, how much school, how many exams, how many great days to take the horses out for winter walks, and how many episodes of _Carl_. Could he watch _Carl_ where he was? And what about Angie? Did he know how hard she'd been trying to get a hold of him? Maybe he thought she'd abandoned him at the first sight of trouble. He probably wouldn't put it past her. She was good at getting in over her head and running away. She couldn't let him think that.

Nearly two months now. Had it really been so long? How many times could his parents avoid giving her any straight answers? The script was getting old and predictable.

"Angie?" Lauren said, interrupting Angie's blank stare into space. "I know you probably don't want to, I know that I don't, but maybe it would be a good idea for you to get out a bit."

Lauren suggesting a social activity? This never happened. Angie quickly came up with every excuse she could think of to avoid it. She had a few on stand-by for her conversations with Kimmy. But Angie couldn't avoid it forever, at least not in the form of a field trip. Geography. Angie questioned herself over and over again why she had signed up for this course. Not only was it bad enough that Wyatt was in that class too, but Mrs Sorkin had selected field-trip buddies, but presented under the name of lab partners. The trip was basically to go out into the woods with cameras and notepads and make observations with help from the project guideline. Of all the bad luck in the world, who would have guessed that Wyatt would be assigned to be Angie's partner? It was like a conspiracy that even the teachers were involved in! Grudgingly, Angie sat next to him on the bus. They didn't talk much, not about anything other than the lab report.

Once the bus safely delivered them to the middle of nowhere, Mrs Sorkin went over the safety etiquette, most of which was entirely ignored by the students, including Angie. She couldn't wait for this day to be over. As soon as the speech had ended, Wyatt stood there, waiting for Angie to give some direction. He was determined to do this as a team apparently. Angie pulled out the lab guide.

"_Displacement_," she read from the top of one of the columns. She felt like writing her own name beside the statement, but it probably wouldn't get her the mark.

"In we go, then?" Wyatt said.

Angie nodded and followed his lead. He was more coordinated in the bush than she was. He pulled back the branches for her and tested ground firmness before she walked on anything. He'd point out different aspects of the forest, tree types, floral types, wildlife, and things that Angie otherwise needed her lab guide to reference.

"I didn't know that you were an outdoorsman," Angie said, making the first personal comment to him in weeks.

He just shrugged his shoulders. "Growing up in Forks, I guess."

On the other side of a gully was an array of non-Native trees, imported by Europe years ago, but since then had grown and seeded other trees. This would be the best spot to take pictures and assess _displacement_. It wasn't a deep gully, but it had shallow muddy waters that neither of them particularly wanted to slide in. Wyatt went first, hanging onto a tree branch to balance him on the edge before jumping across. Angie looked at him as if he were a crazy man.

"Maybe I should just toss you the camera," she suggested.

"You can do it. Just slowly get in front of that tree. Hold onto the branch. No, the thicker branch," he directed.

As Angie awkwardly got into place, she winced and grabbed onto the branch for dear life.

"There's no way!" she said. "Can I just slide down now? It would be less scary."

Wyatt laughed and came to the edge of his bank. He would catch he if need be.

"You aren't scared are you?" he coaxed. "If you don't make it, I promise I'll throw myself into the mud with you."

Angie had no choice. She was hanging onto a tree and from here it would be more awkward to swing back around it then it would be to just jump. So she did, giving out an embarrassing girlish shriek as she did. Wyatt caught her. He held her there for a bit. There was something familiar about this.

The moment didn't last long. There was a strong rustling in the trees behind them. It was nothing to worry about, just other students, but to Angie it would mean being trapped in the rumour world again. She and Wyatt caught in each other's arms! It would be scandalous. The last thing she needed was to give the poor boy more motivation to hang on as he did. She broke away from him instantly and focused on the array of trees. Wyatt grabbed her arm and pulled her in close to him. How dare he!

"Wyatt, seriously!" she said but he tugged on her arm harder and hushed her. His eyes were wide open.

"Hey!" he shouted into the bush. "Hey!" he shouted even louder.

What was it? What was there? If it was someone, it wasn't funny. Why were people so immature?

A grumble. At first it sounded like a stomach growl, but it wasn't coming from either of them. Wyatt pressed Angie close behind him. Was this instinctual or was he trying to be chivalrous? Either way, it blocked her view.

"I don't believe it," he said in awe.

"What is it?" his firm grip kept her from moving forward.

"Wolves don't come out during the day, and definitely not alone."

"What do you mean, _wolves_?"

He didn't answer. He shouted into the bush again, trying to scare it off, but it wasn't working.

"Maybe you're just making it angrier," she said. Then she saw it. It was moving in closer. Maybe there were cubs nearby, or a kill the wolf wanted. Whatever the reason, it certainly didn't like them being there. Wyatt reached into his pocket. He pulled out his Swiss army knife. What was he going to do with that? He couldn't be serious.

"Wyatt, what are you doing? Are you crazy?"

She could see the wolf in its entirety. Its yellow eyes were fixed on Wyatt as it growled.

He released Angie's arm and stood more thoroughly in front of her.

"Wyatt, let's just jump back," she pleaded, pulling on his arm.

His eyes were fixed on the wolf's.

"If we run, he'll attack. Angie, if you think you can make it, jump across, run back to the bus," he said.

"I'm not leaving you here to be some sort of hero!" she protested.

He pushed her away. Despite her movement, the wolf didn't even glance at her. Its teeth were bared, his fur stuck up all along its back.

Why was Wyatt being so aggressive? How did he know that backing away wouldn't just be the right thing? She looked at the wolf and didn't see a threat, she saw it being protective. Whatever it was protecting, it didn't want Wyatt near it. Why couldn't he just step away? His own pride and stupidity was going to be the end of him! Angie blurted out several of these ideas, but Wyatt wasn't listening.

He flicked open the knife. The wolf reacted. It pounced. Angie did the only thing she could think of. She rammed into Wyatt, pushing him over. Something felt hot. Right after it felt hot, it felt cold. Then the realization hit and the immense stinging began. The wolf had jumped, jaw wide ready to take down the threat that stood before it. It was Angie's left arm that intercepted it. Wyatt was face down on the ground, his knife thrown who knows how many feet from him. The wolf had latched on to her arm, but the moment it did, it retreated. It took several staggering steps back, whined, and looked up as if with watery grey eyes, not piercing yellow ones. The shock of it, the look of the wolf, overpowered any sense of pain. Wyatt got to his feet and the wolf ran back into the trees. Angie didn't even look down at her arm until Wyatt threw himself at her feet.

It was horrific. Her entire arm was covered with blood. She couldn't catch her breath. The stinging, the burning, the freezing, everything she had felt beforehand tripled now, and within a few minutes quadrupled. Tears streamed down her face, but she would not sob. She hyperventilated. Wyatt scooped her up, slid down the gully, trekked through the mud and climbed back up grabbing hold of tree branches for support, Angie the whole while up on his shoulder as if she weighed nothing to him.

The strange thing was, she still didn't feel threatened by the wolf. She felt like the wolf was sorry. And even while being carried back to the bus and soon afterwards rushed to emergency, this wonderment lingered on far longer than any fear or pain.


	14. Phase Two: The Nightmare

Chapter Three: The Nightmare

Eli ran. He ran so hard and so fast that he couldn't even tell where he was going, but it didn't matter to him. He ran until he couldn't go any further. He fell forward onto the ground and was sick. He couldn't see through his watery eyes.

Daniel was behind him, having followed him. He put his hand on Eli's bare shoulder.

"It's okay," his big brother said in a compassionate way he hadn't heard in a long time. Eli wasn't ready to hear it now. He fought off his brother's hand only to face the ground again and be sick upon it. Eli waited for the foul taste of stomach acid to coat his mouth, but he had a far worse taste on his tongue that would not be overpowered. It was that which caused the nausea, which caused the tight pinching in his stomach, which made him want to rip himself apart from the inside out. He dug his fingers into the dirt, ready to bury himself in it.

Eli's grandfather was there. He didn't say any words of comfort. He didn't even place a caring hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay," Daniel repeated, trying to lift Eli from dirt.

All Eli could do was plead with himself to wake up. _Wake up. Wake up._

1


	15. Phase Two: Another Cold Snap

Chapter Four: Another Cold Snap

Angie lay on her bed staring out of her window. Her arm was bound in layers of gauze and placed in a canvas sling, which she initially felt was redundant because her arm wasn't broken, but once she tried walking out of emergency, she realized how much she actually subconsciously used her arm muscles. It was easier to just let the sling hold her arm lifelessly. The wound still stung, but that wasn't what was on her mind.

The doorbell rang, again. It seemed like half of the kids from school were dropping in to see how mangled she was. Angie was certain that most of them were disappointed that she didn't look mauled to pieces. For someone that had just been attacked by a wild animal, Angie knew that she looked quite intact and altogether untouched. For one, there was no visible scratch; everything was concealed under the bandaging. The other factor was that she simple didn't feel traumatised by the event. She wasn't shaking or having vivid nightmares about it, in fact, she didn't even have any inhibitions about being near dogs again. She felt fine. The only thing that told her that she wasn't back to normal yet was the sling. It looked more serious to her than she thought it should, but obviously others thought that it didn't look serious enough for what had transpired.

Angie let out a sigh and tried not to overhear her mom at the door. If she was lucky, maybe her mom would turn the person away. If not, Angie could at least pretend that she was sleeping. After all, everyone seemed so certain that she needed plenty of rest in order to recover. Angie could appease them just this once. She closed her eyes and turned her head away from the door.

Amanda Pochoda's faint knock on the door was more subtle than a whisper. It was easy to pretend not to hear it; Angie wouldn't have if she wasn't anticipating it.

"Angie," Amanda called gentle through the door. The she delicately opened the door so that it was only open a crack and called her again. She squeaked the door open a little further and poked her nose in.

"She's resting now," Amanda said apologetically to the person behind her.

"That's alright. I can come back later," he said.

At first Angie wasn't able to place the voice; it had been so long since she'd heard it. She bolted upright, ignoring the pinch in her arm as she did so. "Mom," she called out with a bubble in her throat.

Amanda opened the bedroom door again. "Hey, pumpkin. You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Is someone here?"

Amanda opened the door a little more and stepped back to let the visitor through.

Angie smiled when she saw him. She jumped to her feet and ran towards him with her one arm ready to embrace him. "Oh my God, Joel. What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in forever. Are you okay?"

"Am I okay? I'm not the one who almost got eaten alive," he said with a laugh, setting her back down on her feet.

"I'm surprised you heard about it already. News travels fast, even to La Push."

"My uncle works the parks. He's the first to hear anything about animal attacks. Thought that I'd come and make sure you're alive," he said.

"I'm alive. And I'm glad that you are too. I wasn't too sure there for a while," she confessed.

Joel bowed his head. "I'm mostly over it. Feeling alright now."

"And Eli?" she asked with hesitation.

Joel raised his head. He wished that he could give her what she wanted. "He's okay," Joel said, knowing that he shouldn't have.

"So you've spoken to him? Have you seen him? Where is he?" Angie bombarded him.

"He's still pretty bad. He feels awful, he does. He'll want me to tell him how you are. He'll be glad to know that you're okay."

"That's it? That's all? Joel, he hasn't said a word to me since Christmas!"

Even though she was on the verge of screaming, Joel remained calm, but he didn't seem happy.

"Listen, Angie, I can take him a message if you want, but I can't do any more than that. He's…he's just not in a place where he can be with you right now. I'm sorry." He looked genuinely sad, and Angie felt terrible for even putting Joel in the middle of this. It wasn't his fault that any of this happened.

"Just tell him I'm okay if he asks," she said.

Joel gave a nod and slowly stepped back. He figured that he had overstayed his welcome. Angie saw this and wouldn't let him go so easily.

"Wait." She extended her arm to hug him once more. "You'll still talk to me, won't you?" she asked him, nearly pleading.

"Sure thing," he said with a weak smile. It wasn't all that comforting to her, but he _was_ the only one from La Push who had made an effort since she last saw Eli. That made it all the harder to see him go. It was like saying goodbye to him was her goodbye to everything that she'd had before winter. To make matters worse, these thoughts dwelled in her head for a long while afterwards. Angie just kept replaying everything, everything that was said, that was done, as well as everything that went unsaid and undone. That was when she decided to take matters into her own hands. If no one would tell her anything, she'd go to someone who would. A part of her knew that it was a crazy idea, but it was worth a try.

After breakfast one morning, she grabbed her bike and was gone. The icy, snowy roads were a trial on the bike, especially once she hit the highway. Angie had never taken it upon herself to bike the whole way before, and winter wasn't exactly the best time to decide to try, but she wasn't thinking of the journey, only the destination. She hadn't been to the ranch often, but she didn't have to think twice to find it.

When she got to the foot of the driveway she leapt off of her bike and tossed it aside against a frozen snow bank. She ran up, her feet barely touching the icy sheet below her, not slipping until she fell forward into the storm weather door. When she caught herself, she realized that her heart was racing and her breathing was heavy. She didn't know how long she had been like this, but this moment of consciousness didn't last long. She grabbed hold of the cold door handle and swung it open. She knew that knocking or ringing the doorbell would be the polite thing to do, but she wanted to get this over with before she realized how crazy she was being. She reached for the knob on the main door. She did expect it to be locked, but it seemed that the small town mentality skill existed out here. She heard the click and practically tripped with the door as it opened, stumbling on the threshold. When the warmth from inside hit her frozen rosy face, the reality of what she was doing hit her. She was ready to poor out a slur of apologies, but there was something else that hit her at the same time. The living room was full. Six different sets of eyes were on her. All of them were huddled together on and around the centre sofa, game controllers in their hands. In the middle of them was Eli.

Tears welled up in Angie's eyes. Every intention she had of apologizing had instantly disappeared. Her cheeks flushed, this time from heat, not from cold. There were six of them. Eli, his brother, his two cousins, Joel and Spence, were all motionless, just staring. No one said anything. They were like deer in headlights.

"So this is it?" Angie finally said when she found words. "I don't hear a word from you and here you are sitting and playing X-Box? You're unbelievable. And to think that I felt sorry for you." She swallowed hard and turned on her heel. She couldn't stay. She came for an answer and she got it, though it hurt her more to know this than anything else. She let the screen door slam behind her as she trudged through the snow to get her bike. She tried to use her bandaged arm to help her working arm get the bike loose from the bank it had sunk in. It was the first time today that she felt it sting. It was the first time today that she had felt much of anything. The tears streaming down her face burned.

When the bike was free and back on its wheels, she hopped on and pushed off as quickly as she could. She wouldn't look back.

"Ange," she could hear Eli say. It was just a memory of his voice. She was too far now to hear him. Besides, he had his chance to say something; he had weeks to say something.

"Ange!"

The next thing she knew someone had jumped in front of her. She yelped, fearing that she'd crash, but she didn't. The bike stopped on its own and Angie nearly lost her seat. She jerked her injured arm down instinctively onto the handlebar, and let out a small scream of pain and surprise. Eli stood right in front of her bike, holding it firmly in place. When she realized this, she was too angry to think about the physical impossibility of him getting in front of her so fast.

"Ange, don't go like this," Eli begged. He clutched onto the handles as if for his own life. His bare feet were planted firmly into the frozen ground.

"Just go!" Angie shouted.

"Ange, please. Just let me explain something, okay?" he said. He tried to keep his calm voice, but it was shaky.

"Explain? Explain why you won't return my calls? Explain why you couldn't even tell me whether or not you were alive? I've been freaked out since December, and then I find you, perfectly fine, playing your stupid video games! But, of course, you must be far too sick to pick up a phone – shooting up terrorists is far more important!" More tears streamed down her face. She roughly wiped them away with her jacket sleeve.

"I wish I could tell you," Eli said as if it hurt him to do so. He couldn't look at her. He only saw the flimsy cloth sling over her jacket. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. "I never wanted to hurt you," he said slowly, tears welling up in his own eyes.

"Just get back to your game. I shouldn't have bothered," Angie said coldly, trying to pull the bike away from him.

Slowly he released his grip. His lower lip trembled as he tried to hold back his tears. "I still love – " he began, but Angie cut him off when she regained control of the bike.

She cursed at him sharply and mercilessly. The she kicked off.

The trip back didn't fly by like the trip there. Her legs, knees, and shoulders ached before she was even out of La Push. She was certain that the flesh of her face was going to fall off and the tips of her fingers and toes were going to be blue. Luckily, Meredith Cooper saw her on the road and pulled over. "Angie? Dear, what are you doing out here?" she said through the rolled down window.

"Just heading home," Angie tried to say confidently, but her words were mumbled.

"Oh, for goodness sake, child, get in here," Meredith insisted. She told Angie to get in the car and dealt with getting the bike in the back seat. "Now what was so urgent that you had to be out riding on a day like today?" she questioned the girl.

"Apparently nothing," Angie replied.

Meredith turned up the heat in the car. "Poor girl," was all that she said. It was nice not to be interrogated about it. Angie was certain that her own mother would have gone hysterical over it. She wasn't looking forward to that.

Meredith pulled the car into her own driveway and invited Angie inside to get warm. She ran a hot bath for her and heated up some soup while Angie was regaining some feeling.

"Feeling better?" the landlady asked at the kitchen table.

"Yes, thank you, I mean, for everything."

Meredith just smiled in a grandmotherly way. It was comforting. "Oh, say nothing about it. Things happen. Boys will be boys, as they say."

"How did you know…" Angie asked amazedly.

Meredith laughed. "Isn't that the reason why we do anything a little bit crazy?"

"I guess it was a little crazy," Angie confessed.

"You aren't the first and you won't be the last. That's just the way of it, I'm afraid."

Angie was glad to have been taken in by Meredith Cooper, but she was even happier to be home in her own bed – at least, until she looked around. The walls had been painted by Eli. The shelves had been made by him. Everything she had had been touched by him at some point, and this made her sad. She threw herself down on her bed and buried her face in the pillows.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Angie looked up. This scene was so familiar to her it was like a dream. At her window was Eli, standing on that same old stone that he had pushed up to the window all that time ago. She got up and went to open the window. As she tugged it open, the loose screen fell to her feet. It just made her more frustrated.

"What _are_ you doing?" she demanded from him.

"I'm asking you to trust me," he said to her.

"It's a little late for that," she said.

"Ange, please. I don't deserve your forgiveness, I know this. I know this better than anyone. Know that I'm not looking for it. You can hate me. I would if I were you. I wouldn't want anything to do with me. Things that I swore I would never do I've done. I wish I could take it back. I'd give anything to just go back in time and do it all differently."

He sounded too guilty. Angie was mad at him, but she didn't think that he was guilty of some crime. Why was he being so hard on himself?

"Eli," she said, "what exactly did you do?"

He exhaled and bowed his head.

"Christmas," she said, "what happened?"

He looked up. His eyes darted wildly, as if he was trying to piece floating words together.

"Were you actually sick?"

"Yes," he said. "And no. Something's happened to me, Ange. I didn't know it. I've wanted to tell you. I've wanted to see you. I just didn't want to hurt you. I wasn't ready to be around you. I didn't want you to be effected by it. It's bad enough that I've got it."

"What is _it_?"

"I can't tell you. I wish I could. God, do I wish that I could. But I wish that I didn't know. I wish that it didn't happen to me. But all the wishing in the world doesn't change it. It is what it is. I am what I am. And I'm so sorry for it."

"I've missed you," Angie said unhappily.

Eli reached up and touched her cheek. "You have no idea how badly I've missed you." He balanced himself on the sill with his elbows as he held himself up to kiss her.

Angie cried as he did so, and then so did he. He then pulled himself up and through the window. Angie stepped back as he did so.

"I can't be with you," he said, his head bowed, "at least that's what they say. I know they just want what's best, for me, for you, for everyone. It's killing me, being away from you. I hate it. But I won't hurt you, not again. I won't let myself."

"So that's it? It's done? Just like that?" she said in disbelief.

"Believe me, I don't want it to be."

"Then why?"

"Because you can't trust me. Because there are things I can't tell you. Burdens I have to bear. Things that you can't even begin to understand. I don't want to lie to you. I don't want you to be afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid of you. How could I be?" Angie asked sincerely.

Eli only looked at her arm. Angie noticed. "Wolf attack in the woods," she explained.

"Yeah, I heard," he said. "I wish I could protect you the way I should."

"It was a freak accident. You couldn't have done anything even if you were there. But you could have come to visit me if you knew about it. Joel came."

"I know. I wanted him to, to make sure that you were alright."

"But you couldn't come yourself?"

"No, no I couldn't. I really couldn't." His answer seemed to take his breath right out of him. He sat down on the foot of the bed. His whole neck curled up into his chest.

Angie fell to her knees in front of him. She saw plump tears fall straight to the floor from his eyes.

"But you came now," she said, putting her hand on his cheek.

"Yeah. They'll be hunting me down for it too," he said, trying to force a laugh out.

"So this thing you can't tell me. Can we get past it? What if we did just pretend that none of this ever happened? Eli, the truth is that I do trust you. I need you. You can't hurt me anymore than walking out on me right now."

He took in a loud deep breath.

"You wouldn't have come if you really wanted to get rid of me," she said.

"I'd never want to get rid of you," he said, trying to smile. He gently lifted her off of the floor and sat her on his knee, being very cautious of her injured arm. Angie rested her forehead against his. "I worked far too hard to get you in the first place."

"Exactly. So don't do this to me again," she said. She kissed him and Eli knew at that moment that there was no leaving.

"It won't be like before, not entirely. I gotta lay low. But I'll try to be around. And you have to promise me that you won't go barging in at the ranch," he said.

"Top secret video games?"

Eli laughed. "No. The ranch is kinda like a rehab. That's why my brother went there. My grandfather, he knows about this stuff, and how to handle it. Joel went through it, not at the ranch, but he's okay now. He can go back to school now. It'll be a while before I can. And some of the others, they're not as controlled. Who knows who else will be joining us. The last thing I want is for you to show up on the wrong day, when someone's gone berserk. I don't want you to get hurt. I know it sounds strange and confusing, but if you can trust me about anything, please let it be that me and my kind, we aren't all safe."

"Okay," she said in deep thought. "Eli, you're making it really hard for me not to ask questions."

He smiled. "I guess I should stop talking," he said.

"No, don't. I haven't heard your voice in forever."

He held her a little tighter. "I can fix that screen for you," he finally said.

"Well, does your laying low require the window?" she asked.

He laughed. "Maybe. Maybe I'll leave it."

Eli stayed curled up with her. They talked about everything that didn't involve the mysterious illness. Every now and then Eli's eye would dart towards the window. He knew that someone was waiting for him, and had been for hours. Eli would let him wait. He needed to be right where he was. Eventually Angie felt asleep in the warmth of his arms. He wanted to pretend that everything was back to normal, but the bandaging around Angie's arm and the rustling outside were constant reminders of how abnormal everything really was.


	16. Phase Two: One of the Pack

Chapter Five: One of the Pack

Eli shovelled his late lunch into his mouth, barely taking time to chew. He kept watching the clock while the guys around him were still continuing the play-fight taunting with one another at the table. His right foot was tapping with impatience so greatly as he ate that his whole leg was practically bouncing. The moment he got the last huge bite shoved into his mouth, he grabbed his glass of milk and chugged it down – mixing the solid and the liquid as one. He didn't care. These days he could stomach anything. What he needed right now was to get out.

"Hey," Daniel said to his brother quietly. "Slow down, will you, before you choke to death." His fatherly tone was very common since Eli moved into the ranch.

"I'm fine," Eli replied.

Daniel stared him down, assessing Eli's anxiousness. Eli knew that his brother knew. He was even pretty sure that everyone else did too. He tried very hard not to think about it when they were out patrolling the woods, but he couldn't ward it off indefinitely.

Eli got up with his dishes and piled them in the sink. He quickly rinsed them and wiped his hands dry. He slowly squeezed by the guys, inching his way to freedom outside of the kitchen. He got to the living room and grabbed his sneakers. He slid his feet into them without bothering to undo the laces. He turned to grab his jacket off of the sofa arm when his brother confronted him again.

"Eli," he said.

"Daniel," Eli replied cheekily.

"You can't keep doing this. How long is this going to go on?"

Eli grabbed his jacket. "As long as it can," he said. He half expected his brother to stop him, but Dan would have done so by now if he was going to.

Eli didn't go everyday, but he tried to two to three times a week. Running through the woods actually got him to Forks faster than driving ever did, but once he was near enough to main roads, he had to slow it down. He got to the high school parking lot just a minute before the end bell rang. When Angie came out through the doors, he was already leaning against the bike rack waiting for her. It usually caused a few stares from the other students and monitoring faculty, but neither he nor Angie really cared about that; everyone had stared beforehand anyway.

Angie ran straight to him and threw her arms around him. Even in the chilly spring weather, he was always so warm. They'd free her bike and Eli would walk beside her as she slowly peddled. By this time, Angie had stopped asking how he got there each day without a car. His answer was always, _"Don't worry. I have my ways,"_ which was never very encouraging. Nonetheless, she had agreed to let the things that didn't matter be left alone. Just having Eli around was more than she could ask for.

"So how did the math test go?" he asked as they strolled along the side of the road.

"It's math; it went. I don't think I completely failed it," she exaggerated.

Eli laughed. "You'll be okay."

"Well we can't all be super geniuses like you," she said playfully.

"Yeah, the super genius who can't graduate," he said.

"It's not your fault you got sick," she said. Even though they had both agreed that Eli wasn't actually ill, it was the only term they could agree to use to discuss it.

"Yeah, I know. It still sucks though. But I guess there's a plus side to it," he said. "I get to spend the extra year here."

"Because that _so_ makes up for it," she said sarcastically.

He put his hand over hers on the handle bar, stopping her slow progression. "It does," he said completely seriously. "I still have a lot to make up for."

"Eli, we've been over this, you don't have to do anything," she protested, wheeling forward again.

From there, the two of them mock-raced each other. Angie barely touched the peddles believing that she couldn't leave Eli too far behind, meanwhile he was straining to slow his effortless jog down to a normal pace. Some days he let her win, but mostly he would sprint at the end of the driveway to come up just in front of her. It was one of their ritualised games that made them both feel a little more normal. But today he stopped her short before they made it through the clearing of the trees.

"What? What is it?" Angie said, reacting to his serious expression.

He stared intently down the driveway, standing completely still, yet his chest puffed out as he inhaled deeply.

"I don't think I'm using the front door today," he said.

"Why? What are you talking about?" she said.

"Cable guy," Eli replied with a smirk, his serious tone broken.

"What? Now? That makes no sense. Mom's still at work," she protested.

Eli laughed. "She came home early I guess."

"Ew," Angie said.

Eli laughed again. Then he kissed her cheek and slowly headed off to the side. "I'll meet you inside," he said to her.

Angie grudgingly rode her bike the rest of the way. Sure enough there were two vehicles in the driveway. Angie could only wonder at how Eli knew these things before she did. She figured that his outdoorsman skills made him a good tracker, and that if she actually paid attention to the gravel road, she'd be able to make these spontaneous predictions too.

Amanda Pochoda had somehow managed to keep interest in Ryan for this long without trying to cohabitate quite yet. Angie was grateful enough for that, but who could say for certain how long that would last? Angie went inside, trying to make as little noise as possible. Her presence didn't go unnoticed. Amanda and Ryan were actually in the kitchen just talking. By the smell in the house, it seemed like Ryan had brought them take-out Chinese food, which seemed to be his most common peace offering.

"Hope you're hungry," Ryan called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure. In a bit," Angie said making her way to her bedroom. They wouldn't care if she didn't reappear for a while.

When she got behind her bedroom door, Angie threw her bag to the floor and opened the window as far as it would go. Eli then leapt in as if it was nothing. They kissed as if they hadn't seen each other in months, as they had been doing since Eli's sudden reappearance. Eli picked her up as if she was a child and held her up against him, none of it disrupting them. He carried her over to her bed and laid her own on it, stretching himself on top of her. He gave her a few last kisses and then pulled away.

"Hey," Angie whispered, disappointed that he had stopped.

"You've got dinner, and homework," he said.

"It can wait," she said hopefully.

Eli just had his faithful smirk on his face.

"Fine. But stay anyways. I'll get it done and we can hang out all night," she suggested.

He kissed her once more. "You're so needy," he joked.

"I am," she said proudly. "So you'll stay?"

Eli shook his head. "Not today."

"But you've already come all this way. That's it?"

"Trust me. I'd stay here all week if I thought I could. But I can't. Not just now."

Angie pouted and threw herself back in a theatrical huff. Eli just laughed.

"But I've come with a compromise," he said temptingly.

Angie raised an eyebrow.

"This weekend," he said, "everyone's going to be gone, kind of a camping thing out in the woods."

"And?"

"And I think I can successfully weasel out of it this time."

"So I can see you this weekend? All weekend?" she said.

"And at the ranch. If you wanted, anyway."

It was a relief to have such an opportunity. Since Ryan still lived with his parents, the Pochoda cabin in the woods was his escape from his mother, and not being able to go to Eli's meant that Angie had lost any escape from her own. It was also frustrating to have Eli sneak around all of the time. As far as Amanada was concerned, Eli was still sick and therefore not in school. It was too complicated to try to explain why he wasn't at school without making him just seem like a dropout. Angie didn't even fully understand, but at least she was the last person to ever think the worst of him. She knew that he'd never be a dropout if he could help it. After all, he was way more ambitious than she was.

She kissed him hard and playfully pulled him down again. Eli laughed and tried to hold himself up.

"I'll pick you up, okay? Saturday. 10:00am."

"What in a car?" she asked.

"Yeah, in a car," he said so precisely.

"I thought you weren't allowed cars anymore," she said.

"Yeah, I'm not allowed a lot of things right now," he said with a little laugh. "But I don't see you complaining."

"I ask no questions," she said, "as promised."

"I'll be at the end of the driveway," Eli concluded.

Angie watched as he climbed back out of the window. She ran up to it as he plopped onto the ground.

"You still do?" she asked him. It was a question that she made him answer every time he'd go away again.

"Always," he replied, as he always did.

Satisfied, Angie slowly shut the window as he crept into the thickness of the woods until he was out of sight. She stood at the open window just staring out at where she had last seen him. The ridiculousness of his sneaking around had a certain appeal, and while she didn't understand it, she was completely serious when she said that she didn't need to understand it. He loved her; that's all she needed to know. And when she finally ventured back out to see what the Chinese food had to offer, her thoughts about what was constant in her life were brought to light once again.

Her mom and Ryan weren't even really talking to her, just over her. Apparently they had been discussing the Port Angeles housing market. It nearly made Angie choke on her noodles. What made it so much worse was how bubbly Amanda was in discussing it. She couldn't wait to get back into a better city, into a better house, and with the _perfect_ man. It hit Angie right in the pit of her stomach. It was the epitome of a _here-we-go-again_ moment. Angie's only conciliation was that so far it was only talk; but she knew that her mother worked quickly and usually secretively. Angie could have prayed that nothing would come of it until after next year when she'd graduate, but she knew better than to have such ambitious wishful thinking. Instead she just hoped to make it to summer. Nevertheless, now that the seed had been planted, Angie was just waiting for the real thing to spring to life. The fear of it cast a shadow over everything, so much so that even Saturday morning lost a lot of its appeal.

Angie couldn't wait to see Eli. They still weren't able to call one another, so he hadn't been able to calm her out of her anxiety. Ten minutes before 10:00am, Angie was already out the door. She ran down the driveway, even though she expected to be waiting for Eli to be sneaking over. When she got through the clearing of the tree line, she was pleasantly surprised to see Moses Perdit's truck already parked on the shoulder of the road. It was almost enough to make her smile. She darted straight towards it and climbed in without the least bit hesitation. Sure enough Eli was sitting in the driver's seat, his faithful smirk fully in place. Angie slid right over on the truck bench and threw her arms around him, burying her face against his neck.

"Whoa, hey," he said, caught off guard. "I missed you too."

He kissed the top of her head. Slowly she sat back up and took her place in her proper side. Her face was flushed. Eli dropped his smirk.

"You okay?" he asked with real concern. "What's wrong?"

"We're moving," she said in an emptying way, as if all the air had been let out of her.

"What? When?"

"I don't know. Probably soon."

"And how soon is soon?" he asked.

"Mom and Ryan have been talking about finding their own place in Port Angeles," she said.

"About _finding_ a place, but not _getting_ a place?" he said.

"I guess."

"So it's just talk?"

"I guess."

"So it might not happen," he suggested.

"Eli, think about who we're talking about here. It's going to happen. We're going to be going back to Port Angeles eventually. She hates it here. She hates this house. She wants to get back into the city," she said hopelessly. "I used to think that we'd just keep heading southward, but I guess we're backtracking. Back to Port Angeles, back to Everett, back to Vancouver, and back and back again." She was simply frustrating herself now.

"Alright," Eli said after a deep breath, "let's just say hypothetically that you do move; realistically it'll just be like last year, only in reverse, right? You'll finish the year here and commute. That's fine. I can get to Angeles just as easily as I can get here."

"Easily? Eli you just stole your grandfather's car."

"I didn't steal it."

"Fine, you borrowed it," she corrected.

"Doesn't matter. The point is, I have my ways. Nothing'll keep me from you. And look on the bright side; if you're in Angeles, we can get Blizzards for our _Carl_ nights," he said, bringing his smirk back out.

Angie tried not to give in to his contagious optimism. She bowed her head to avoid any sign of a smile being seen. But Eli couldn't miss it.

"See? It'll be okay," he said.

"I hope you're right," she said.

"Course I am. Things are pretty great right now, aren't they?"

Angie gave in and nodded.

"And it gets even better. We've got the whole ranch to ourselves. One day to just do whatever we want. Nothing to worry about. No one in our way. It's about time, I say."

Angie smiled. He leaned over and kissed her. Once he was sure that she had gotten most of her anxiety out of her system, Eli started up the truck and got back on the road. He started up conversation immediately, not wanting an ounce of sadness to intrude on this happy day. To improve matters, he pulled into the nearest corner store. Angie had to laugh because she knew exactly what he was doing. Eagerly she took off her seat belt and swung open the door. "This one's on me," she said, and bounced right in before Eli even put the truck in park. He laughed as he watched her head in proudly. She was back out in less than five minutes with two pints of ice cream in hand, proudly bouncing back to the truck.

"It's not a Blizzard," she said, "but it'll do."

Eli just laughed and jokingly gave her a hard time about watching her eat while he was driving. She mostly teased him right back, but did feed him a few spoonfuls every now and then. By the time that they got to the ranch, the one pint had been completely finished, and the second one was feeling pretty soft – most likely due to the fact that it had sat between Eli's thighs the whole way. The first thing he did when they got inside was put it in the freezer, unopened.

Angie lingered near the front door for a while. She had only ever made it this far into the house once, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. She was hesitant to go much further. It felt too invasive. Eli quickly popped back into sight and came back for her.

"You know, you can come in," he said with a laugh, taking her by the hand and pulling her forward just a couple of feet.

Angie smiled and blushed with embarrassment. He kissed her.

"It just feels weird," she confessed to him.

"What? The house?"

She nodded. "It doesn't feel like your place. I don't know. I can't explain it. It's just different."

Eli nodded slowly. "Alright," he finally said. He slid his hand from her hand up to her arm. He then gave his head a quick tilt, telling her to follow him. He brought her in front of him, though with a hand on her arm and one on her waist, he led her down the hall. Along the way, Angie counted three rooms, or at least three door frames. It caught her attention because there weren't any actual doors anywhere, only long narrow curtains that hung in their place. It reminded her of beaded curtains, except that these curtains seemed more practical and lest decorative. For a start, these curtains were heavy and the bottoms touched the floor, blocking up every inch of the doorframe. As Eli pulled back one of the curtains, Angie saw that it was in fact two even narrower curtains that took the shape of a single one. Eli had to give her a little more of a push to get her to go through. He laughed at it. He didn't know what she was so worried about. She could plainly see that it was just a bedroom, his bedroom. The house was empty, except for them, so there was no need to be nervous about anything. Eli was there. She could be herself with Eli there.

Angie took the hint and stepped forward into the room. It was surreal. Even though it was just a bedroom, and a bare one at that, it actually did feel more like Eli's room. The only difference was that, unlike at his parent's house where half of the room was barren, or _two-faced_ as he called it, this room had its twin half intact. The second bed, the second dresser, and the second side table, were all there. If only it had matching desks Angie was certain that this was exactly what Eli's old room had looked like before she knew him.

"You okay?" he asked her after watching her analyze the room for a minute.

She snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah, fine," she said. "So this is your room?"

"Yeah, for now anyway," he said.

"And your brother's too?"

"Yup. Just like old times," he joked by sounding very unimpressed.

"For how long?" she asked him, moving further into the room on her own accord this time.

Eli shrugged. "As long as I need to, I guess. Dan's not interested in moving back home. Feels too old for it, I guess. Or maybe too changed for it. I've still got some time to do here. After that I don't know. I could finish senior year here or back home. I haven't decided yet." He watched her as she continued to study her surroundings. It made him smile to see her think so hard. "So what are you thinking about?"

"Just trying to take it in," she confessed.

"It's just a room," he said, moving in closer to her.

"It's more than that," she said to him. "Remember when we met and you were so determined that I had my stuff and my space?"

Eli laughed and nodded his head.

"I guess a room says a lot about a person," she continued.

"So what does this room say about me?" he asked.

Angie just looked him in the eye for a few seconds, reading him. Then she looked over at his brother's half of the room. "Well for starters, it says that you've got a missing piece back."

Eli tucked his hand behind her head and through her hair. "Yeah. Right here," he said in a soft affectionate whisper. Then he kissed her deeply. Angie kissed him right back and slid her arms around his neck. He pulled her in closer until there was no space between their bodies. Slowly, while they were still embraced and kissing passionately, Eli shuffled one foot forward at a time, leading Angie backwards until her calves touched the edge of his bed. They crouched and scooted back onto it, yet still trying to remain attached to one another. There wasn't much surprise in what was going on. They had felt ready for a while, even before Eli's mysterious illness, and now that they had been back together, and so determinedly so, they had nonverbally agreed that now was the time to see just how far they could go. And while they both felt passionately about each other, the more heated things got, the more real the expectation became. It didn't go unnoticed when Angie began to tighten up and start to subtly quake. Eli stopped kissing her for a moment.

"You okay?" he asked.

Angie nodded her head several times very quickly, but she was still tense.

"You want me to stop?" he asked.

Angie let out half a laugh. "Stop what? We haven't even done anything yet."

He brushed back strands of hair from across her forehead with his hand that was over her head. He gently kissed her forehead and then looked back into her eyes. "I know. I'm just making sure you're alright. I promised to keep you happy, remember? I can't start slacking now."

"Because not all guys are jerks?" she said, echoing back the countless conversations that had transpired between them since they met.

Eli laughed. "Well, at least we try not to be," he said.

Angie leaned forward and kissed him square on the lips. "I still trust you," she whispered to him. The quaking had stopped, and though her heart was beating fast, she wasn't as tense as she was just moments before.

"I love you," he whispered to her.

Angie didn't say it back, but she kissed him back in such a way that the full meaning was there behind it.

Eli adjusted himself so that he was lying beside her, and she followed, snuggling in close and entangling herself around him arms and legs. They were in no rush. They simply enjoyed each other as it came naturally. Although they were both still fully clothed and their hands didn't stray all that far, they were the closest they had ever been. At times it was slow and sensual, other times faster and deeper. They were both conscious and unconscious in the moment. One thing was for certain, neither of them wished to be anywhere other than where they were right now.

Eli was so lost in the moment that he was oblivious to things that he should have otherwise noticed. He should have smelled it coming through the woods out back. He should have heard it rush through the long grass. He should have sensed the alertness in the horses. But Eli didn't even give it a thought until it was right under his bedroom window, a low growl that rumbled like a storm. Even Angie heard it. She shut her mouth and her eyes darted towards the window, though the blinds were drawn.

"It's okay," Eli said. "Just ignore it." He kissed her again trying to lead her away from the alarm she felt. It was hard to do because the growl and the rumble grew louder and fiercer. Angie began to tense up again, and again Eli tried to calm her by dismissing it altogether. It seemed to have gone away. The sound had died down, but it didn't feel any further off. Rustling was heard much closer – inside. Angie tensed even tighter. Light taping could be heard on the old linoleum hallway flooring, like paws and blunt nails marching towards them. The rumble restarted, very deep and very close.

Eli raised his torso, and though he looked straight at Angie as he spoke, he was calling to the creature just behind the curtain door. "I'm a little busy!" he cried out impatiently. The rumble grew louder. The creature rushed in. Its muzzle was in a snarl, its fur was rigid and standing on end, and it bent its neck low as though it was fully prepared to lash out. Eli remained calm. He stared the large wolf square in the eyes. The wolf let out a part howl, part bark. Eli sighed and drooped his head. "Fine!" The wolf stopped snarling and began to straighten itself, but it continued to watch Eli intently. Eli looked back at Angie who still lay beneath him. "I'm so sorry. I'll be right back," he said desperately to her.

Angie didn't have time to reply or even put together any coherent thoughts.

Eli jumped to his feet and leaned over her, kissing her quickly as though in a great rush. "Just stay here," he said. "I promise I'll be right back." He was practically tripping over himself as he moved towards the door. The wolf left back through the curtains and its paws could be heard taping away down the hall. "Just don't move. I'll be right back," Eli repeated, watching Angie rather than the curtains he was trying to get through, causing him to be tangled up for a few seconds before freeing himself to follow the wolf that was already gone from sight. Eli closed up the bedroom curtains tightly and began to rush down the hall. As he speed-walked, he stepped on the toes of his socks and pulled his feet out of them one at a time. He whipped off his shirt and threw it to the ground. And before he got to the garage door, he kicked off his pants and shorts. The garage door, too, was simply heavy curtains, and Eli jumped through them. He landed firmly on two sets of legs, and his once naked body was now fully coated with soft yet durable fur. He continued to run forward, following the scent of his brother. The back garage door was equipped with an extra-large sized dog-door blocked by a thick rubber flap that looked like it came off of the back wheels of a monster truck. It was enough to keep cats out, that is to say that it would had cats any desire to come so near the ranch, yet it was perfectly accessible for the boys who stayed at the ranch. Eli passed through and found his brother waiting impatiently just a few feet from him.

_"Hey thanks a lot,"_ Eli thought aloud to his brother in an irritated tone.

Daniel simply laughed. _"Just be thankful it was me who got sent over. Can you imagine the scene Spence would make? He might even just stay to watch."_

Eli stubbornly refused to back down on this grudge.

"_Oh come on, little brother,"_ Daniel continued._ "You've been a virgin this long; a little while longer won't hurt you."_

_ "Uh huh," _Eli scoffed. _"This better be important."_ Eli searched his brother's thoughts for a clue as to what was going on, but Daniel had very steady control over his mind, much like their grandfather. That was more than could be said for the rest of the pack. Daniel and Eli hadn't even crossed the yard yet and already Eli could hear Spence's snickering at him although he was still far from sight. Eli didn't help matters either by muttering thoughts that he simply couldn't keep to himself.

Daniel led Eli far into the woods, so deep that they actually went beyond La Push land. When they came across the whole pack, Eli noticed that they were all standing around the carcass of a black bear. At first it didn't appear as though anything was out of the ordinary. Often the pack hunted and ate in the woods; they simply abided by the laws of nature and respected it. But upon inching just a tiny bit closer, a horridly dry icy smell shot through his nostrils up to back of his brain. It was so sharp that he let out a high pitch yelp of surprised pain. It was like a terrible brain freeze except that it hit all of the wrong nerves in the worst ways.

_"Oh God, what is that?"_ Eli demanded, stepped back and tossing his head back and forth, trying to knock the bitter frost out of head.

_"That,"_ Moses Perdit said calmly – even his sleek silver wolf body was as steady and solid as a stone statue, _"is the very reason why we are."_

At first Eli though that his grandfather had trailed off mid-sentence, but then he realized that Moses had meant each word of it exactly as he had said it. In all of the times that Eli had heard the stories, and even though he and his pack were living proof of the validity of those legends, Eli had never been fully prepared for the reality of this. The thought came immediately to Eli's mind, as it did to the rest: _Cold Ones_.

_"So they're back?"_ Eli asked.

_"Well at least one is,"_ Daniel replied.

_"So what does this mean? What do we do?"_

_"For now, we wait,"_ Moses said.

_"Wait? For what?"_

_ "There is a pact, formed long ago, as the elders tell it," _Moses replied poetically as if he was simply retelling legends by the fire. _"We are protectors of this land. We keep peace among the people who live among us. Those who abide by our laws are not our enemies, and therefore cannot justly meet their end as our enemies must in our presence."_

_ "So we wait and see if these are the good ones or the bad ones?" _Eli interrupted. _"Great. And how do we find that out? After an innocent human goes down?"_

_"Eli!"_ Daniel scolded for his brother's impetuousness. But Moses Perdit did not seem alarmed or offended by his grandson's agitation. It was plain to see Eli's mind. Eli had vivid thoughts of what one of the _Cold Ones_ could do to a person, and not just any person, but an unsuspecting and vulnerable one, like Angie. It made his blood boil and body twitch with distress.

_"You all know the scent now," _Moses announced, _"so be on your guard. Our reasons for patrolling mean all the more now. We must take this very seriously."_

Eli meant to. He wasn't going to let Angie get hurt. His head clouded with layering thoughts of her. Then he remembered that she was still waiting for him. His mind snapped back to the present and he stamped his paws eagerly.

Spence and his cousins, Holden and Randy, laughed at him. And even though Moses didn't even openly think anything reprimanding of his grandson, there was a hint of a sigh radiating from him.

Eli didn't mean to think it out loud, but his anxiousness couldn't conceal it. _"Can I go now?"_

Moses gave a reluctant nod. The others laughed.

_"Just stay off my bed,"_ Daniel jokingly warned his brother, making the others crack up even more.

As Eli turned right back around to head back to the house, the guys in the pack were wolf calling the way that only humans did on full moon nights. Eli tried to ignore them, but the problem with being in tune with the thought of the pack was that their voices didn't cease with distance, at least not until there was great distance between them. Nonetheless, Eli stayed focused and darted as quickly as he could to the ranch. He practically flew over the ground beneath him and the passing scenery was nothing but a continuous blur to him. He lunged through the dog door, leapt through the first set of curtains, raced down the hall and finally skidded to a halt, sliding right through his bedroom door. He looked up at Angie, thrilled that she had stayed exactly where he left her, but something was wrong. She sat there wide-eyed and motionless.

_"Good job, genius,"_ Spence's voice echoed among the excessive laughter of the rest of the pack. That wasn't right. Eli shouldn't still be able to hear them. He looked down and realized that he was staring at paws. In that same second he turned tail and back through the curtains. He couldn't believe that he had gotten so ahead of himself and been so stupid. He ran to where his shorts were discarded and phased back onto his bare two legs. He grabbed his boxer shorts and quickly stepped into them. When he was covered, he ran back to his room, once again nearly tripping in the curtains and stumbling in. His panic had left him panting.

Angie continued to sit there, just staring.

"Okay," Eli said, trying to remain calm. "I know this seems weird."

Finally Angie moved slightly, which was relief enough to Eli knowing that she hadn't been thrown into a complete state of shock or petrification. "Is this all part of the things that you can't explain?" she asked him nervously.

Eli bowed his head and slowly made his way towards her. He knelt down on the floor beside her legs. "Yeah," he said defeatedly. "I'm sorry." He bent his head down in her lap, burying his face. He felt Angie's hand gently stroke the back of his neck. It just made him feel guiltier.

"That was you, wasn't it?" she stammered.

Eli looked up at her. He didn't know how to respond.

"It makes no sense," she said, "but it also doesn't make sense that I'm not freaked out. Two ginormous wolves just walked into this room, and I know I should be terrified. But it's like back in the woods, and I can't explain it, but I'm not scared."

He slowly lifted himself up and sat on the bed beside her. He couldn't look at her yet. His eyes remained fixed on the floor. Angie reached over and slid her hand into his.

"It was the same, wasn't it?" she continued. "It was you."

Eli saw only the ghostly pockmarks of scar tissue lining her arm. His eyes blurred. He quickly rubbed her arm, as if to erase the marks on it in one brushstroke. He didn't look back down to see if it had gone. "I'll never forgive myself for it," he mumbled. "I couldn't face you. You deserved someone who wouldn't hurt you." He didn't mean to say this much. He bowed his head even lower in shame.

"But you didn't mean too," she said in his defence.

"But I did. I could smell him, and you, and I couldn't control myself. If you hadn't…I really might have killed him," he said. "That's why I'm here. That's why I had to be taken away. Why I couldn't be near you. And I didn't think it really was that bad. I didn't think I really had it in me. But that day, in the woods, with you…I knew I had to stay away."

"But you came back," she said so optimistically that it actually surprised him. "And you didn't hurt anymore. Not really, anyway. I saw it. You backed off. You couldn't hurt me."

"It wasn't meant to be you. I could never let it be you," he said, now in full tears.

Angie embraced him and cradled him into her. She rubbed his back and down his arms. His bare skin was radiating with warmth, soft and smooth. Angie kissed the crown of his head and he nestled into her.

"I just have one question," Angie said calmly, not knowing if Eli was even able to answer any questions right now.

He sniffled back, trying to man up and stop being so emotional about it. After all, it was probably just freaking her out more. "I think you've earned a few answers," he said, wiping his face. He tried smile and make it sound like he was in good humour again, but it was muffled in a way that he just couldn't help. He braced himself for anything she had to ask. He'd say as much as he could. He knew that he had to. But Angie was taking her time, probably trying to find the words. He didn't blame her for it. He didn't know the words either.

Angie looked down at her scared arm. "How does this work now?" she asked. "I mean, am I going to have to worry about lunar cycles now or something?"

Eli laughed in relief. It wasn't the question he was anticipating, but it was the type of question that he should have known she'd ask. He shook his head and sniffled back the last of the heavy emotion. "Nah. It's not contagious; don't worry. Hereditary, but not contagious. I'm pretty sure that just about anything you've ever heard about it is wrong. I mean a silver bullet might take me down, but a normal one would too."

"So is there anything that I need to worry about in all of this? It can't hurt me or change me?" she asked.

He shook his head again. "Nope. You're stuck as you are," he said, the sniffling gone.

"So then we're still cool?" she asked quite casually.

Eli laughed in disbelief. "Really? That's the only thing you want to know out of all of this?"

"Well, is there anything else I really need to know?" she asked.

Eli was dumbfounded and speechless.

"And as crazy as it all seems, it actually makes a lot of sense looking back at everything. You'll look out for me," she said. "I trust you." She touched his chin and brought him closer to her to kiss.

The day had gone completely off track from anything he had imagined it was going to be, but it wasn't ruined. Angie continued to kiss him; Eli didn't know how she could keep going, but he wasn't going to complain. It wasn't long before it hardly seemed like they had ever been interrupted at all. Soon Eli wasn't the only one stripped down, and while there was still nervousness between them, the realization of how deeply they loved each other led them the rest of the way.

"Sorry," he said suddenly, very self-conscious.

"That's it?"

Eli just looked guilty, and it made Angie start to laugh.

"Oh that's not good," he said. "I get it; I need some practice. Laughing at me is not helpful to the ego."

Angie had to cover her face, she couldn't stop. She tried several times and failed, making herself just laugh more. Eventually even Eli began laughing too.

It may not have very long but there was mild relief in that everything they were so anxious about really didn't amount to very much. They spent the next few minutes simply laughing at themselves, glad that the tension was over. It had also made the next round of practice a little more successful.

The two of them lay there breathing heavily, curled up into each other, just listening to the rapid heartbeats. It was peaceful. And as it goes when people are completely happy and at peace with themselves as well as each other, they drifted into a restful sleep, completely unconcerned with the world beyond them.

After about twenty minutes, they awoke gradually, still blissful, at least for the moment. Eli was half way through a stretch when he became alert. The smell was strong and he couldn't figure out how he hadn't heard the sound of the living room TV. He threw himself back down and exhaled heavily.

"What is it?" Angie asked him; she hadn't heard anything either.

Eli sighed, and then he let out a slight chuckle. "Welcome crew," he said.

It took Angie a little while to figure out what he meant, but when she did, she buried herself from the embarrassment. Eli laughed and uncovered her.

Their day alone was cut short. The pack had returned and were now piled into the living room, just watching TV and waiting. Eli was hoping that he and Angie could get out without drawing too much attention to themselves. He led her around the living, going through the dining room and out the kitchen rather than walk directly through the unpredictable crowd. He hoped that the guys would be too absorbed in the TV to taken too much notice of them sneaking out the front door. Eli had considered simply sneaking out through the back door, but he wasn't feeling ashamed of himself, he just didn't want the inevitable harassment in front of Angie. But taking the long way around didn't prevent anything. The pack had been anxiously waiting for Eli to emerge, and they silently listened for him the moment they heard the faint whispering from his bedroom. No one was watching the TV. They could tell that he had gone behind them through the dining room. They all listened and tried to refrain from snickering too loudly until he and Angie actually appeared from out of the kitchen. Eli was first, holding Angie's hand. She followed him like a shadow attached at the feet. At the first sight of him the wolf howling and whistling began. Angie immediately changed a deep shade of red and tried to bury her face in the back of Eli's shirt.

"Come on, guys," Eli said trying to call them off. He didn't stop walking. He got Angie out the door first, then he addressed the pack. "Just so you know, I hate you all," Eli said. He tried to sound tough, but his smirk shined through; that is until he saw Daniel sitting quite smugly on the sofa, the emptied ice cream pint in front of him. Eli pointed a threatening finger at his brother before finally stepping outside.

Angie was already waiting near the truck. She was still flushed and embarrassed. Eli gave her a hug and let her hide away for a moment.

"So was this some sort of manhood ritual type thing?" Angie asked him

Eli laughed. "No, this is a _humiliate Eli_ type thing. I wouldn't worry about it. We get a little cabin-feverish sometimes. Driving each other crazy is about the best way to live with each other everyday," he said. Angie didn't look anymore relieved. "We can limit your visits with them," he said with another laugh. He then kissed her forehead and opened her door.


	17. Phase Two: Prom Dates and Ball Courts

Chapter Six: Prom Dates and Ball Courts

June was still a couple months away, but nonetheless the halls of the high school were already plastered in student council posters promoting prom. Seniors were roaming the halls feeling like their day of freedom had already come while juniors were left with dreams that they too would get to enter into this magical festivity before their time. None were as excited as Kimmy who was definitely trying to score a date and a prom ticket. She was relentless.

"Sucks that your boyfriend dropped out, hey?" she said to Angie in English class.

"He didn't drop. He had tonsillitis with an after surgery infection," Angie reminded her friend. It wasn't a great lie, but it was as easy to accept as Joel having mono.

"Right. Sorry. Point is, you could have scored two proms out of it. When I was with my aunt in Seattle, I saw the cutest dress ever – I could get married in it, I swear. We put it on lay away. You have to see it."

"You put it on lay away? Already?"

"Yeah. If I don't do it now I'll find myself stuck without anything," Kimmy stated very matter-of-factly.

"But what if you don't get an invite? What are you going to do with the dress then? Just hang on to it 'til next year?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'll get one. I hear Jonah's brother hasn't secured a date yet."

Angie's jaw dropped. "What, the camo kid who throws Shreddies at the freshmen?"

"Yeah, I know, he's a freak. But he is kinda cute in that dark bad boy kinda way."

"Sure, if you're into the whole future convict thing," Angie said.

"Hey, just because you show up with a guy, doesn't mean you _have _to leave with him."

Angie just shook her head and tried to pay attention to as much of the post war poetry trends as possible, but it was actually worse than Shakespeare. She was feeling pretty certain that this would be yet another subject that Eli would have to force her to study. There was no way that she'd be able to retain any of this for the final exam. She quickly moved from straining to write notes to doodling in the margins. Angie was never much of an artist, but she was beginning to get quite good at drawing wolves nowadays. Most of her school notes had a figure or two somewhere, which made it doubly embarrassing when Eli was around while she was doing homework.

Angie was always hopeful that Eli would be outside the school waiting for her, even if he had done so the day before, but rarely was he ever there two days in a row. Every time he wasn't there she felt the disappointment. She'd even turn her head at the sight of any four legged creature in the hope that Eli was simply following her in a different form. It was only ever just a dog or a cat roaming about, making Angie feel a little crazy, but she figured that her life was crazy enough to lose track of reality every now and then.

It seemed like she had truly lost her grip on reality when it appeared as if her mother's car was in the student parking lot.

"_Not again."_

Angie didn't want to risk a double-take. She ducked back inside the school, leaving her bike locked up. Those who were trying to leave stumbled over her as she charged back down the hallway. She stopped when she got to the gym door. She knew she could sneak out the back of the gym and avoid the parking lot, but then what?

"You okay?" someone asked her.

Angie was afraid to look. She knew that she must look like a freak right now.

"Yeah, fine. Thanks," she lied terribly, hoping that he'd just go away. She didn't have to look at him to know who it was.

"There's no practice today," Wyatt said.

"Yeah, I know," she replied.

He stood there awkwardly with her, just looking at the gym doors. Someone had to move; just standing there wasn't doing anyone any good. Finally, Wyatt pushed open the gym door and held it open with his shoulder. "I've got some time," he said to her.

His idea sounded a little better than hers. She followed him in. The gym had only a handful of students still making their way out, but stopping and chatting as they did so. Wyatt tossed his backpack into the bleachers. Angie did the same, only a little less enthusiastically than Wyatt did as he disappeared into the equipment room. The echo emerging from it told Angie at once what it was Wyatt had grabbed. He dribbled the basketball out, running around the contour of the gym. Angie slowly made her way towards the key where he passed to her, letting her make the shot. It hit under the rim and bounded back down to the gym floor. Angie sighed. Despite how many games she played, she was unsurprised that she was still terrible at basketball. She ran to the stray ball and curved around in a half circle with it. She noticed that Wyatt was ready to play some defense and was following her with anticipation. Angie smiled and took on the challenge. She darted out with a trusted soccer-training sprint, barely remembering not to carry the ball as she dribbled. Wyatt wasn't as coordinated of a runner as she was, and he practically tripped over his own feet trying to follow her sharp turns.

"Hey," he said as he caught himself.

"Hey yourself, V-ball," she said almost laughing. She then took a shot. It swooped under the net, but just barely; it was pathetic. Wyatt ran for the stay ball and caught it while it still had some air to it. He took a shot from the corner of the key. His ball hit the backboard and rebounded into the net. He caught it as it came through, too.

"Talk all you want, Beckham," Wyatt said to her, "at least I've got hand-eye coordination."

He laughed there, slowly dribbling. He looked too smug. Angie charged and stole the ball from him while it was in mid dribble. She did a circle around him, forcing Wyatt to chase her. He tried to get his arms around to steal the ball back, but she just dodged under his arm and double-backed away from him. They played this game of cat and mouse for a while until Angie found herself cornered. She tried to find an opportunity to aim for the net, but Wyatt hovered over her, his huge football-player arms practically acting as blinders to her. She went for it. Wyatt was quick to react and hit the ball back down. It bounced off the wall and rebounded out into the court. They both ran for it, the whole while Wyatt was trying to block her. He had finally realized that his size was his only defense against her speed, so trying to be a human wall was the best way to get the advantage. As they neared the ball, Angie dove under his arm and just grabbed it with her fingertips, but her grip wasn't strong enough to keep Wyatt from stealing it. She was able to throw the rest of herself at it, getting her palms tight against the rubber, holding onto it for dear life. Wyatt did the same. The two of them now had no choice but to wrestle for it. Neither one would give in, though they taunted each other to mercilessly. They were laughing and playfully screaming at the frustration of their opponent.

"Give it up."

"In your dreams."

"It's over."

"Bite me."

Angie was right under his arm. She had tucked the ball in as close into her stomach as she could, bringing Wyatt so close that he was practically on top of her. He could wrestle her to the ground if he wanted to, and Angie was half expecting him too, but he seemed to be keeping his hands firmly on the ball, at least until a third person broke the fun of the game.

"Wyatt! What the hell?"

He dropped his grip instantly and stood up straight. It was his current girlfriend, Lauren Abel, the girl who had been holding a tough grudge against Angie since the first day of basketball tryouts.

Apparently Wyatt and Lauren A. had after school plans, plans that had slipped his mind. He promptly apologized to Angie and grabbed his backpack.

"_Sorry, Angie?_ Why not _sorry, Lauren?_ It's me you were in the process of standing up!" Lauren ranted as they left the gym together.

Angie was left in the centre of the gym with possession of the basketball. She almost felt sorry for Wyatt, but she knew that he was responsible for his own life and the contents of it. She dribbled a couple of more times and then made a shot for the net. The ball hit the backboard, then the front of the rim; it rolled around the rim very methodically, leaning inwards ever so slightly. As it continued to roll, it dropped down from the corner, falling beside the net, not going through it. Angie cursed the ball and then put it back in the equipment room where it belonged. As she tossed it into the bin she took a quick glance at the rest of the stuff in the room. There was a short line of soccer balls in a built-in shelf right above the basketball bin. Angie could only shake her head. If Wyatt really understood her, he would have pulled one of those out instead. She knew that Eli would have if he'd been here. Then she shrugged. It could have been worse. Wyatt could have done something foolish like pull out one of the numerous volleyballs instead.

Angie went out the back gym doors as she had planned earlier and walked around the school from there, cautiously approaching the parking lot to see if the coast was clear. The familiar car wasn't in sight. It looked safe enough to get her bike. Angie felt even more foolish for her earlier panic. She grabbed her bike and was off. She tried to talk herself out of lingering on the idea of the inevitable move. She replayed everything that Eli had said to her, though having him say it was much more reassuring than trying to tell herself. She was nearly done with the thought all together until she was up the driveway. Amanda's car was parked already. There was no sign of Ryan's car. Angie jumped off her bike and quietly put it up against the house. She thought about going in through her own window the way that Eli did when he didn't want anyone to see him, but it would probably make things worse if her mother didn't think that she had come home at all. She took a deep breath and then opened the front door quickly, rushing through the house, saying a loud generic "hi" and going non-stop until she reached her bedroom. But despite her direct route, she couldn't help but notice her mother curled up in a chair, holding herself. Angie wanted to go on as if she hadn't noticed, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her mother didn't have an Eli to take care of her. All she had was Angie. So she did what she knew she had to. She put her backpack down and walked to where her mom was. Neither mother nor daughter said anything. Angie linked her arms around her mom and just dangled around her shoulders. Amanda burst into a flood of tears. She muttered a few nonsensical things in-between hyperventilations, but Angie didn't need to hear the story to know it. Amanda wanted to be rescued and Ryan didn't love her enough to do it. On the plus side, Angie was assured that they weren't moving right away, but the down side was that her mom simply couldn't take the rejection. Amanda Pochoda could endure a lot of things, but a broken heart wasn't one of them. As her mother sobbed, Angie felt herself emptying, as if she was leaving the contents of her body and living with just the shell of it. She'd come back for the rest when there was time to. Picking up her mom's pieces were simply more important right now.

Even on the following day when Eli _was_ there waiting for her after school, Angie might as well have walked right through him as if she was transparent herself. Eli was stunned at not receiving a warm welcome, or even really being acknowledged. He asked her if she was okay, to which she gave no response, but just focused on her bike lock. Then he tried to bring her into a hug, hoping that that would break down the barrier even a little bit, but Angie put the bike between them.

"Not today," she said coldly.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Just not today," she repeated, and then got on her bike and pushed off. She didn't look back to see if he was still standing there stunned. She didn't watch her peripherals to see if anyone or anything was running alongside her. And when she got home, she avoided her room until it was long past sunset. At nine o'clock she entered her bedroom briefly, only long enough to grab her pyjamas and leave again. She didn't look towards the window, but she knew that it was still closed and that her room was vacant. It made her feel better to know that he wasn't going to be around. He didn't need to be a part of this. After all, Angie had nothing to give him until the tension was over.

She had a night shower, hoping that it would lull her to sleep a little easier when she went to bed. Unfortunately, even that didn't work. Amanda had begun her habit of emotionally charged phone calls of desperation. It was done in part sadness, part anger, part remorse, but all in all, done in the hopes that some miracle cure would come of it, though it never worked out that way. All it ever ended up being was back and forth arguing that led to regrettable things being said and many tears being shed. Angie tried not to listen, but she had heard it so many times that she couldn't get it out of her head. Even if the names changed, the emotions stayed the same. While Amanda was raging like her own tropical storm, Angie lay in bed as if lifeless. She didn't adjust, or twitch; she barely even blinked or breathed. The more Amanda's emotions flared over the phone, the more Angie was paralyzed in place.

She heard the rattling outside of the window. She heard the casement groan as the window was sliding. She heard the eruption of wind through the trees outside, and the light thud of feet hitting the wood floor. She heard it all, and while in her head she was telling him to go away, she couldn't move a muscle to actually say anything.

Eli shut the window behind him, and without saying a word, he crawled in beside her. Even though she knew he'd be warm to the touch as he always was, she was expecting a frozen chill to hit her when he came near her. When it didn't, she felt a bitter-sweet pang of relief. He didn't say anything. He just put an arm around her torso and nestled in until his nose was resting on the back of her neck. Even his nose was warm. Angie didn't want him to hear it, but she knew that he had to of, even from outside. Finally, when she was tired of still being awake, she turned over and faced him, this time nestling herself under his chin. She closed her eyes tight, waiting to be buried in him so deeply that the rest of the world would be drowned out. He couldn't do that for her, but it was the next best thing. He kissed her forehead and told her that it was all going to be alright. Then he kissed her again and stroked the back of her head with his cradling arm.

Just before drifting to sleep, Angie turned her head up to kiss him. "I love you," she said, and then nestled back in.

Eli got home early in the morning. He tried not to draw too much attention to himself, but Daniel was practically right at the door as Eli entered.

"Let me guess," Eli said, "_Where have you been?_"

Daniel let a smirk appear on his face. "Come on, little brother. Everyone knows where you've been. Your life isn't as mysterious as you might like to think it is," he said.

"So how long exactly do I get to keep the whole of the pack in tune with my head?" Eli asked.

Daniel laughed. "Sucks when you run faster on four legs, doesn't it?" he joked.

Eli brushed his brother off and pushed forward. He had important things to discuss, and none of it had to do with Daniel. But Eli's thoughts flickered through the minds of his pack as he ran back to La Push. If the whole thought wasn't clear, then at least it had given everyone a few clues as to what was coming. That being the case, Moses Perdit was ready at hand, sitting in the kitchen waiting for his grandson.

"Hey," Daniel said to his brother, a little more severely, "just don't get your hopes up. It's hard to accept, I know, but you have obligations now," Daniel warned his brother.

"Everyone has obligations," Eli said.

"And sacrifices must be made sometimes."

"And it's my choice which ones I make," Eli said.

Daniel sighed, and then patted his brother on the shoulder. He didn't say it, but he understood.

"Eli," Moses called from the kitchen. Eli heeded the call, and Daniel followed closely behind.

Daniel took a seat, but Eli didn't. He breathed heavily, remembering to stand his ground. It only worked for a minute because Moses just stared at him, not willing to speak to his grandson until he was in a less aggressive stance. Eli gave in and sat down.

"So you wish to talk?" Moses said calmly. "About her, I imagine," he guessed.

"No," Eli said defensively. "I know everyone thinks that I've only got one thing on my mind. But there's more to it than that."

Moses titled his head as to say _go on_.

Eli took a deep breath. "I want to stop playing sick," he said. "I want to go back to work. If I get back to the auto shop before summer I can save up quite a bit for college still. I want to go back to school in September, and when I do, I want to go back to the house." He spoke quickly, but he said what he needed to.

Moses sat quietly and contemplatively. Finally he said, "Do you think you can take it on yourself? It can be more demanding alone than together, that's why we roam as one. You know the severity of what's out there. You know what it is capable of."

"And I'm still patrolling. I'm still keeping my nose to the ground, I promise," Eli interrupted.

"But your mind is elsewhere."

"We're protectors. I'm protecting," Eli said.

"And when you work? Go to school? When you are home? Are you protecting?"

"I can't explain it. All I know is that hunting in the woods isn't enough. I know what I am, but that doesn't change who I am. I'm not backing out. But how can you protect people you isolate yourself from? If I'm around them, I'm where I need to be."

"You underestimate this call," Moses said forlornly.

"He's still a kid," Daniel added. Eli cringed at being called a child. "We can't take that from him. If the Cold Ones want a fight, putting Eli in the middle of it doesn't help anyone."

"And having him on his own endangers him. We can smell them. Do you not think that they too can sense us?" Moses said. He turned his attention back to Eli. "She fell victim to your attack once, would you risk it again?"

"No," Eli said. "It won't happen again."

"And how can you be so sure? You're still very young."

"Because I know I could have done worse, but I didn't. I know I can stop myself. I've gained control over it," he said boastfully.

Moses eyes drooped. "If you wish to go to school, I will grant it. If you wish to go back to your parents, I will grant it. But you stay on our lands. This is where you are needed. This is where you will stay out of trouble."

"But-"

"This is my counsel," Moses said. "If you wish to take the matter to the elders, that is your right, but I believe that they will say much the same as I have."

Eli breathed deeply, but otherwise he didn't move. Even when Moses left the kitchen, Eli stayed in place.

Daniel leaned in towards his brother. "It's because of the pact. We agreed that we wouldn't bother them if they kept to the law. If you're on their turf, it could start something. We don't want to make the first move." He had hoped that this reasoning would ease his brother, but it seemed to do little good. Daniel sighed. Then he spoke again, "Besides, if Angie just keeps coming here, she'll have the whole pack on her side, right?"

Eli tried to smile but he couldn't quite get there. "She needs me, Dan. I have to be there for her," he said.

"And when she leaves in the summer again?"

"She might not. She hasn't decided yet," Eli said.

"And where do you side on it?"

"I want her to stay, but I know that she's better off going. She'll be happier, and as it stands, safer."

"So that's why you want to go back to work, is it?"

"Then she'll know that everything's back to normal. Nothing changes."

Daniel laughed. "Eli, things always change. Just look at yourself."

"Trust me, I do."


	18. Phase Two: A Ray of Sunshine

Chapter Seven: A Ray of Sunshine

The auto shop never changed. Even the paint on the building hadn't changed in thirty years, or so Eli had been told. Ray Desjardin was about the same age as Moses Perdit, but the two men couldn't have been more different. Ray's short and stout physique was practically iconic on the reservation. He always reeked of a mixture of oil, gasoline and cigarette smoke – it wasn't a pleasant combination. But his sharp stench mostly stayed behind the help desk with his sharp tongue, watching static-filled day time TV on an eight inch monitor that was about as old as the building that housed it, and only turning his attention to the shop when something was going wrong. Today was no different. Eli walked through the open garage door to see Ray nearly asleep, teetering in his chair that was leaning back only on its hind legs. The guys in the shop were all half way in a vehicle, either from the top or the bottom. The tallest one among them was Calvin, Ray's great nephew, and also a senior member of the pack. He was just over ten years old in wolf years, which meant that it had been that long since he first phased. He was never a resident of the ranch, like Joel, and thus he followed a different elder than Moses Perdit to get his bearings, but he was just as focused on the pack as anyone else.

Calvin spotted Eli right away, or perhaps he smelled him first, Eli wasn't sure which, but either way it didn't surprise him at all. Calvin gave Eli a knowing nod, and with that Eli could tell that he was being welcomed back. All he had to do was secure a place on the payroll with Ray.

"Hey Ray!" Calvin called over the sounds of drills and motors. Ray didn't stir more than his chair teetering. "Ray! Hey Ray!" Gradually the shop noises died down and the rest of the guys chimed in to get the owner's attention. Finally Ray stirred, teetering his chair a little too far back and causing him to jolt, though it hit the wall behind him before he could fall too far.

"What?" Ray barked. "What'd'you boys break now?" Then he saw him. "Oh, Eli," he grumbled, "it summer already?"

"Not yet. Got an opening?" Eli said with his faithful smirk.

Ray groaned and rubbed his heavy eyes. Then he called out to the boys, "How'd far'd Pete get on the boat?"

"Well, he got the motor out," one of the guys said humouredly.

"Lazy bum. Got what was comin' to him," Ray mumbled to himself. Then he turned back to Eli. "You think you can size her up, tough guy?"

Eli rolled up his sleeves and caught the grease rag Calvin crumpled into a ball and tossed at him. Eli took his place on the line. He received grease stained pats on the back from the guys as they made room for him to check out the materials for himself. He got his hands right into it and didn't miss a beat.

"So you're out?" Calvin said casually to Eli when it seemed like the others weren't paying attention.

"Yeah, I am."

"That didn't take too long. I think I was at least a full six months. But your grandfather's good that way. I guess he has a pretty long history of rehabilitating people. It always surprised me that he never made alpha. Your family has a long line of great guardians." Guardian was the neutral term that most people used when out in the two-legged world. It embodied their ideals of being protectors as well as ancient sages.

"He's not ambitious," Eli replied. "He's more of one to pick up the slack than lead the way."

Calvin laughed in agreement. "Still, I bet I could still learn a few things from him yet." Calvin was always a little anxious about the subject of the alpha. Technically, it was his to inherit one day, but he was always certain that those around him would be better suited for the job. The thing about the alpha, though, was that it wasn't a choice, you either were or you weren't. After serving his time, it was pretty much guaranteed that the alpha would be respected as an elder on the council, a great honour that even Moses Perdit had never obtained. Not all elders had the wolf within them, just as not all children of phased parents did. Yet the band elders were the highest form of authority within their culture, and it was they who kept the fine balance between the wolf guardians and the rest of the Quileutes. Even though Eli knew the importance and sacredness of this guardianship, and even though he smelt the presence of a Cold One for himself, he didn't feel weighed down by it. As far as he was concerned, being a wolf was just an addition to life, not a stop to it. Working alongside Calvin, who last year he never would have guessed was a shapeshifter, only reinforced the normalcy of it.

Ray gave Eli a hard time just about every twenty minutes, almost as regular as clockwork. It was a sure sign that Eli was officially part of the team again. It didn't bother him at all. He was quite used to it. After putting in a good five hours of unexpected work, Eli was penciled into the week's rotation. He helped clean up his station and then scrubbed up for the day.

"You got a ride?" Calvin asked as the shop emptied.

"On foot today," Eli said.

"The ranch, right? I'll drop you off."

"Cool. Thanks man."

Eli wasn't expecting much out of his evening, but when he and Calvin got to the ranch, he was surprised to see the all of the guys getting loaded up in his grandfather's truck. Eli waved Calvin off.

"'bout time you got here," Randy and Holden snickered as they saw Eli come up the drive way.

"What's all this? Where's everyone going?" Eli asked.

"Mom and Dad's," Daniel answered from the truck's passenger side door. "Sarah's stopping by for a few days. Mom's doing a big supper."

"And I wasn't invited?"

"Uncle Nelson wasn't sure you'd be ready," Randy said.

"Plus you were totally off the radar," Holden added.

"Well that's just crap," Eli said.

His cousins only snickered some more.

"Why do they get to go?" Eli addressed his brother, pointing at the two giggling fools. "They haven't even been let out yet."

"Yeah, well you have, and you're younger," Randy said.

"Am not."

"In wolf years," Holden added and snickered some more.

Daniel just sighed and called his cousins into the truck. He was serious so their amused faces quickly dissolved into ones more reserved. Once they were crammed into the back seats, Daniel looked on at his brother. "You coming?"

"I thought I wasn't invited."

"Dad said he wasn't sure about you, he never said that you couldn't come. I think we'll have enough eyes on you. Besides, I've taken you down before, I'm sure I could do it again," Daniel joked.

"Alright. Fine. But I'm not sitting next to those two knuckleheads," Eli said.

Daniel laughed and then tapped on the truck roof as if that was a sign to go. He slid down the bench until he was in the middle of Moses, who was in the driver's seat, and Eli who had scooted in the passenger side. It was ridiculous to have Daniel, the largest of the lot, sandwiched in the middle, awkwardly trying to avoid having his knees dig into the dashboard or interfere with the stick shift. It was a tight fit, but thankfully the drive wasn't a long one.

When they arrived, the boys could hardly wait to pile out of the cramped truck. The cousins ran up to the front door while Dan and Eli waited for their grandfather.

Maggie Perdit answered the door. Given that Nelson's truck was nowhere in sight, it seemed apparent that he was picking his eldest daughter up from the airport or nearest shuttle drop-off. This assumption was confirmed when they got inside, also explaining why Matthew and Gabby weren't eagerly waiting at the door.

Maggie affectionately squeezed each person who walked through her door, but none so tightly as Eli. It had been a long while since they had actually seen each other. She cooed motherly words in his ear, almost as if to cradle him. Eli laughed and joked about her embarrassing him, to which she was quick to comment on how filthy he was and how much he smelled like an old garage.

"Well, I'm back at the shop as of today," he explained to her.

"Already?"

"Just trying to keep busy," he said simplistically.

He had barely made it up to the main floor landing when his mother insisted that he not smell like a grease monkey. Of course Randy and Holden laughed at Eli being mothered, but Daniel thumped them each one on his brother's behalf.

Eli was in the shower when Nelson arrived with the rest of the crew. Eli could tell by the happy chorus of voices on the other side of the door that everyone was now home. He quickly got dressed and joined his family in the living room. Sarah was there, looking a lot shorter than he remembered her, but then again, she was surrounded by inner wolves who towered over her. Eli jumped right in and tackle-hugged her from behind.

Sarah let out a fake shriek and tried to grab at the hair on the top of his head. "Hey wet-head, who said that you could get taller?" she complained.

Eli released her and accepted a regular hug from her.

"So how've you been, big guy?" she asked him.

Eli shrugged and smirked, giving her the _same-old-same-old _look.

Sarah had her family's smirk and it shone on her. "Figures you've been living it up," she joked. "Hey, I've got someone for you to meet."

Eli hadn't noticed the stranger among them, but she sat self-consciously off to the side. She smiled sheepishly when she heard herself being talked about.

"This is my roommate, Elaina."

His heart beat fast just staring at her. He felt his throat strain as if his breath had been held for hours. His blood felt warm, even to the ends of his fingertips. His mind went blank. It was if he was in the eye of torrent storm, seeing everything spin around him, yet nothing beyond his immediate surroundings had any shape. She was beautiful. She had rich jet black hair, perfectly toned olive skin, and bright burgundy eyes. She looked like Persian angel. It was in this very moment that he knew, beyond any doubt, without fully understanding why or how he knew, he just did. At least, that's what Daniel thought.

It didn't even occur to Eli to look at this Elaina girl twice. Sure he was friendly and pleasant towards her, but she was categorized as an extension of his sister. Elaina was in the same year as Sarah, but she was in a commerce program, not med school. And despite her Persian appearance, Elaina was actually one quarter Blackfoot, and the rest of her family was Italian. Part of her attraction to Sarah and her family was the imbedded Quileute culture, something that Elaina and her family had distanced themselves from for generations. She grew up in New York State, far from the Blackfeet or their reservations. Curiosity and intrigue brought Elaina to see an unbiased few of a Native American community. She had many questions, but was far too cautious to ask, yet somehow Daniel anticipated her curiosity and separated himself from the rest of the family to address it.

Daniel sat across from the new guest at dinner, and as the evening progressed, he seemed practically attached to her. It was enough to make Eli feel embarrassed on his behalf. He just didn't understand, at least not until the next time he and his brother patrolled the woods phased again. Eli's mind flooded with vivid images of Elaina along with inexplicable sensations of raging emotion towards her. It was distracting and nearly nauseating. It didn't take long before it was so bad that he'd find himself even dreaming about it. He'd see himself as Daniel being with Elaina the way his brother so desired. Eli would wake up and thrash his head around, trying to beat the imagery out. It was like seeing his sister, only in ways that required therapy. Eli wasn't the only one tormented by it. Every member of the pack within telepathic reach voiced complaints against Daniel Perdit. It became a bad joke among them. Even at the auto shop Calvin and Eli would make fun of it and how crazy it drove them.

"But that's just how it goes," Calvin said after a good laugh. "Not every one of us will be so lucky to find our match."

Eli brushed it off as hopeless romance.

"No, it's true. I guess it's one of the compensations for our isolation. You imprint, and then you know what your life means. Or so I'm told, anyways," Calvin ended with a laugh. "But I feel it in your brother. I'm sure you must too."

Eli nodded absent-mindedly. He had heard the imprint stories from many members of the pack, some of the stories passed down through generations. Not all of them ended well. It was simply yet another part of their heritage that had nothing to do with choice. In fact, the more Eli learned about his _gift_, the more he was made aware of how few choices he had. Being human was so much simpler.


	19. Phase Two: A Scrap

Chapter Eight: A Scrap

Amanda Pochoda seemed unusually tense as she and her daughter drove up to the corner gas station. It was early in the morning, and Amanda had to head to work in Port Angeles. She scanned the whole view from her windshield half hoping that this really all was just a waste of time. It was one of those rare occasions where Angie was the optimistic one for a change.

Angie sat there, completely jittery. Her heavy backpack was bouncing on her lap. "See, there he is!" Angie practically squealed. "I told you he'd come."

Amanda tried not to look too put-off by it, but her tone made it apparent. "Are you sure that this is a good idea. I mean, he was really sick."

"Mom, I told you, it's not contagious," Angie explained.

"I'm sure he still doesn't need to you bother him, or his family."

"Mom, it's fine. And anyways, you're going to be late if you don't hurry," Angie pointed out as she was exiting the car.

Amanda rolled down the window and called out to her daughter, "Just be careful, okay? Call me later, alright?"

Angie ran right into Eli's open arms as he stood leaned up against his car door. Eli waved to her mom, giving her the hint that things were fine and that she could go. They watched to make sure that Amanda did actually get back on the road, and then they made tracks of their own.

Eli had kept his promise to his grandfather and the pack; he didn't stay in Forks. He made sure that he was always back on his own grounds before the end of the day, and when he did venture out beyond his territory, Daniel helped him minimize his phasing by providing car keys. If he wasn't phased it was less likely that the pack could get on his case about where he was. Without being in wolf form, Eli figured that he was less threatening to whoever or whatever was ready to sniff him out. In addition, now that he was public again, Eli was allowed back on the phones. This was how it made coordinating with Angie so much easier. She was also eager to get things kicked back to normal.

"She sure didn't look to happy," Eli said during the drive.

"Yeah, I think she was kinda hoping that I was done with you," Angie replied.

Eli laughed. "Oops," he said. "Well, if it's any consolation, I think my parents were hoping for the same thing."

"What? How is that consolation?"

"Because we know better," he said proudly.

"Do we know?" she said sceptically.

"Yeah. If they knew half of what it's been like for us, they'd know too."

"Somehow I don't think you being a werewolf would win my mom over."

"I told you, I'm not a werewolf," he said.

"Fine, you're not a were anything, but you're still a wolf."

"Yeah, and I don't think my parents knowing that I bit you would go over well with them either. But it is what it is, and I think it's okay."

"They don't know? I thought everyone knew?" Angie asked.

"My dad retired from the pack when he and my mom got married. Hasn't phased since; at least not that I know of. They get news from the elders, but I haven't been a headline yet. My grandfather is good at keeping things at the ranch on the down low. No harm, no foul."

"You can retire?" Angie asked.

Eli's smirk melted. He still wasn't supposed to openly tell her things about the pack, but sometimes he forgot that certain things weren't common knowledge. He cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. Angie got the hint and sheepishly went along with the new topic.

When they got to the ranch, Angie waited for Eli to lead the way. As excited as she was to have the day with Eli, she wasn't exactly eager to meet with the rest of the pack. She could only guess at what they must have thought of her.

With her backpack slung over her shoulder, she followed close behind Eli. The guys in the living room simultaneously rang out, "Hi Angie." She smiled weakly and gave a small wave. Eli led her right on through to his room. Randy and Holden made the most commotion, but between Spence and Joel, they both got a swift thump to the arm.

The curtain at Eli's doorway was pushed open. Eli said an absentminded "hi" to his brother without taking much notice of him. Angie on the other hand crept in slowly behind Eli and tried to figure out how to be as least disruptive as possible.

Daniel had a suitcase on his bed and had piles of clothes scattered everywhere.

Angie sat on the end of Eli's bed and rested her heavy backpack on the floor by her feet, watching Dan as she unzipped it and felt for the right binder.

Eli watched her and that was what finally caused his attention to gravitate towards his brother.

"You going somewhere?" he asked.

Daniel heard him, but was caught up in smelling different shirts to figure out which ones were cleaner than others. After he threw his final choice into the open suitcase, he replied, "Yeah."

It wasn't exactly the descriptive answer Eli was looking for.

"…okay…" Eli said, audibly drawing out his confusion.

"Catching the bus to Seattle, then flying out from there," Daniel said, still busy at packing.

Angie had her binder flipped open on her lap, trying to at least look like she was doing more studying than eavesdropping.

"To where?" Eli asked.

"New York."

Eli couldn't believe how casually Daniel said it. No one just spontaneously decides to go to New York, and least of all Daniel. He was just about to ask his brother just what exactly was in New York that he needed to go so badly, but the moment the thought entered his mind, so did the answer. Eli didn't have to read his brother's mind to figure it out.

"Seriously? They only just left two days ago. What are you going to do, show up on her doorstep?" Eli protested.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I just know that I have to do it. I don't expect you to understand," Daniel said. "Hi, Angie," he said as an afterthought.

"Hi," Angie said sheepishly, but this time her eyes were on Eli. His face was getting flushed and his chest was rising faster and faster. His fists were clenched. She remembered how uncomfortable she felt the first time she met Daniel and he composed himself quite this same way. Daniel couldn't have noticed; his back had been to Eli this whole time. Angie just hoped that Eli wouldn't lash out. This was never something Angie ever thought she needed to worry about, and she didn't know what was triggering it now.

"Ange," Eli said as though to begin to direct and order to her, but Daniel cut him off.

"Just cool it," Daniel said.

Eli didn't have to finish his thought for Angie to know what it was that he wanted. It was something that he didn't want her to see. At this point, she wasn't sure if her being here was going to stop him or not. She softly got up stood behind him, lightly taking his hand. His tension ceased a little as she did so. He finally looked at her and she met his gaze. He looked less aggressive now.

"I can work out there for a bit," she said, trying to give him what she knew he wanted.

Eli didn't want to admit that that's what he wanted, even though just seconds earlier he was ready to tell her exactly that. The realization of his own frustration calmed him down. But before he could give an answer, Angie took her binder and stepped back out to the living room.

"I'm sorry that you don't like it. But it is what it is," Daniel said to his brother once they were alone.

"It's not about me. What about the pack?"

"The pack understands. I'm not running away. I got permission to go. One of the elders even helped me out with the ticket."

"Well that's crap!" Eli shouted.

Daniel tried to hold back laugh.

"I can barely go to Forks and _you_ just take off to the other side of the continent! That's not fair!"

"Eli. It is what it is. I told you, you won't understand."

"I understand that everyone's treating you like you're some important hotshot just because you _imprinted_ on some girl. They make it up like it's some big deal."

"It _is_ a big deal."

"You think I don't know that? You think that I don't know it's a big deal? Yeah, I know that! I've had everyone trying to keep me from seeing Angie, and they hand you a freaking plane ticket because you haven't seen Elaina for _one_ day!"

"Eli, this isn't some teenage crush, okay? When you imprint you'll understand. This is bigger than me. This is bigger than the pack."

"And let me guess, it's bigger than the _Cold Ones_ roaming around picking people off?" Eli snapped.

"Yes, it is. And it's not just because I want to see her, Eli. I need to tell her."

Eli's jaw dropped. He almost stopped breathing all together.

"You can't _tell_ her," Eli said in disbelief.

"Eli, I have to."

"We can't even tell Mom who already knows. You can't tell –"

"I can, Eli. I have to. And I will. Even if I didn't want to, the elders have asked me to."

"Angie's seen me _phase_ and I still can't tell her anything! And you're just going to knock on this girl's door and say, "oh, by the way, I'm a wolf."?"

"Angie has nothing to do with this. We're talking about completely different people, completely different circumstances. Elaina's family is –"

"Italian!" Eli interrupted. "She's as much one of us as Angie is. Don't make her out to be something special when she's _just_ a white girl, like mine!"

"This isn't a competition," Daniel said calmly.

Eli took a few breaths, trying to bring his racing heart back to a normal rhythm.

"Eli. I'm in love with her. Just be happy for me. And then one day you'll realize that what I'm doing _is _for the pack. You've said it yourself, how can we protect people if we isolate ourselves from them? I'm going to be with her. I'm going to protect her."

"And if she thinks you're crazy? If it scares her off?" Eli asked.

"It won't. The imprint makes it okay. Besides, if Angie will still keep _you _around, I think I've got nothing to worry about," he said, making a mild joke that didn't even get Eli to crack a smirk.

Eli just skulked off.

"Hey," Daniel called out to his brother, still hoping to lighten up the mood, "remember to stay off my bed while I'm gone, okay?"

Eli wasn't humoured. He swatted at the thick curtain roughly as if to close it behind him, but it hardly moved on the rod. When he came to the living room he saw his cousins racing each other on the X-Box, both of them being berated by Spence's comments about their skill, or lack thereof. Seated on the floor against the couch were Angie and Joel. Joel looked up and gave Eli a knowing nod. Angie had been kept distracted enough to not overhear what went on in the bedroom, yet Joel still had her stay on task. Eli knew that he owed Joel for all that he did.

He sat down on Angie's left, seeing if she even needed his help with any of her studying. He didn't say anything, and she didn't want to make him talk about anything he didn't want to. He listened as Joel continued quizzing Angie, trying to get her to stop relying on her notes, but Angie was so certain that she was hopeless without them. It wasn't the best study spot with the three boys loudly giving their commentary from on the couch, but it was actually less distracting being in the midst of the noise than watching Dan pack. Even Dan must have realized this because when he was ready to leave, he went the long way around, going through the dining room and out the kitchen as to not cross them in the living room.

Spence and the cousins said distracted goodbyes to Daniel as he headed out the door with his suitcase. Eli didn't even look up at his brother, let alone say anything. Joel took his cue from his friend and kept on quizzing. Angie was only able to look up at the doorway that Daniel had gone through, but he left before she could say anything or even wave a goodbye to him.

The tension didn't die down with Daniel gone. Eli was distracted and it was making Angie uncomfortable since she knew that there was nothing she could do about it. With everyone around, she couldn't expect Eli to confide in her any about what happened. It was getting to the point where Eli's stone cold stare into space was distracting her from listening to anything that Joel was saying; even the loud rumble of car crashes in the game followed by roars of laughter between Randy and Holden went on unnoticed.

Joel reached his gangly arm across the couch and tapped Spence on the knee. When he had his attention, Joel flicked his thumb up, instructing Spence to do something about Eli. Spence jumped to it at once. He walked right in front of the TV, creating minor havoc amidst the cousins. The disruption was enough to break Eli from his trans. Spence wasn't subtle. He didn't give a hint or quietly try to pry Eli away. Spence did was Spence was good at, being blunt. He thumped Eli hard on the shoulder and told him to get up. Expectedly, Eli wasn't impressed. He jerked defensively. So Spence did it again.

"Come on, let's go!"

Eli's frustration jumped back to a high. He scrambled to his feet, ready to meet Spence's aggressiveness tenfold.

Angie's heart leapt as Eli did. She didn't know what Spence was up to, but she knew that Eli's patience wouldn't tolerate it for long. She tensed up, ready to stand up and follow them, but Joel was quick to put a cautious hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be okay," Joel said kindly to her.

Angie couldn't be so sure of that, but she hoped that he was right.

Meanwhile, Spence continued to push Eli down the hall.

"What the hell?" Eli demanded.

Spence didn't elaborate, he just kept telling Eli to head outside. They got to the garage where Eli expected Spence to let him in on what this whole thing was about, but Spence wasn't much for sentimental discussions.

"You gonna knock it off?" Spence asked him, but not in a very attacking way.

"What?"

"You heard me," Spence said, a smirk emerging at the corner of his mouth. He opened the back door and walked out backwards, keeping an eye to make sure that Eli followed him out.

"What did I do?" Eli demanded, his temperature rising.

He took the bait. He followed his friend as if to corner him, though really it was Eli who was being cornered.

"Don't act like you don't know," Spence said, trying really hard to sound serious about it, but it was simply too much fun knowing that he was pushing all of Eli's buttons. Luckily, Eli was getting so frustrated that he wasn't even seeing straight, let alone noticing the game that was afoot.

Spence had him squared off now. He bent his knees and planted his feet firmly in the ground. He hunched over, putting his elbows on his thighs. He looked like he was setting himself up for a football match, but it was the stance of an opponent ready for the attack. From here he could break out in to a run, to a pounce; in under a second, he could be the predator.

Expectedly, Eli reacted. He threw off his shirt and tossed off his belt. He unbuttoned his jeans, but before he even thought about tugging them down, he leapt out and landed less than a foot in front of Spence. His back was hunched, his dark fur was spiked straight up along his spine, his sharp canine teeth were bared, and his growl nearly caused vibrations of the ground around him.

Spence smiled, giving his terrifying friend a playful _let's-do-this_ look. Spence whipped off his shirt and kicked off his pants, ready to match his friend in like form. As a wolf, Spence could hear the tirade of raging thoughts spiralling through his friend's head. The anger and frustration was nearly suffocating. It made Spence unexpectedly tense and there was nothing he could do to turn off the deafening volume of Eli's mind except one thing – he tackled him. With all of his pent up aggression, Eli was explosive and knocked Spence down, gnawing at his neck. Spence kicked and scratched, eventually throwing a forceful front leg across Eli's muzzle, getting him to let go. With that brief moment of freedom Spence leapt onto Eli's back and pushed him to the ground. Eli whipped his head back and snapped at Spence, digging his teeth into the side of his face. Spence swiped him over with a strong paw once again. Eli backed away, but he wasn't done. He got a running start and tried to ram at Spence, but Spence jumped to avoid it. As he leapt, Eli followed suit and leapt too. They met midair, their paws extended and swatting at one another like school children. They hit into one another and landed with a thud, tangled up in one another, forcing them to wrestle for freedom and dominance.

Eli fought; his thoughts now nothing more than a thick cloud with nothing decipherable to be found. His only goal was to win and he was so determined to. He pegged Spence down, his jaw clenched around his neck. Now that he had him, Eli had to decide what to do about it.

"_Alright, alright,"_ Spence said, _"I give."_

Eli held him a moment longer, realizing that the pressure inside of him had been released. Slowly he began to loosen the grip of his jaw. He could hear Spence's panting both aloud and in mind. Eli began to breathe a little more regularly now. Finally, Spence was released.

"_Thanks,"_ Eli admitted with a hint of guilt.

Spence gave a wheezy laugh as he said, _"Don't mention it. What else are friends for?"_

Eli could see the exchange between Spence and Joel that happened prior as Spence reflected on them. It was nice to know that his friends had his back. It didn't matter if he was angry with his brother, or anyone else for that matter, and it didn't matter if he took it out on any one of the guys in the pack, but it would matter a great deal if Angie got in the middle of it. His friends couldn't let that happen to Angie, if not for her own sake then for Eli's.

Eli and Spence stumbled away from each other, licking their wounds as they went, knowing that they would heal up soon enough. Eli just hoped that his scratches would be gone before he entered the house again. He didn't want Angie to worry about him. He was lucky, he didn't have as many marks in visible places once he got dressed again. It was Spence who had a faint crescent on his cheek when they re-joined the others in the living room. Angie was quick to notice it.

She leapt at Eli and threw her arms around his neck, hoping that she'd have some effect on him. Eli accepted the embrace, and his faithful smirk had returned at the thought of her attempt. He kissed the side of her head to thank her, though she noticed just as quickly that her efforts weren't actually needed. The reality deflated her a little.

"Sorry," he whispered to her. "Everything's okay now."

He kissed her and then released her. He took her study books from Joel and gave him a knowing nod. Eli felt pretty confident that he could take it from here.


	20. Phase Two: Count Down

Chapter Nine: Count Down

Eli watched the clock at the auto shop. Even though he was elbow deep in the engine of a speedboat, he was ready to jump at a moment's notice. It was the last day for high school exams and Eli was eager to be the first to greet Angie on her opening moment of freedom. He knew that he could easily run to her school in under twenty minutes from the shop, but it made for a better display if he showed up with a car.

Daniel had practically signed his car over to Eli since he got back from New York. It turned out that he really did need to see Elaina because since he came back from that four day trip, he was more focused than Eli had ever remembered him being. It was true that he still frequently thought of Elaina, but the obsessiveness had died down, or at least he was able to control his thoughts about her much more effectively. It was a change for the better, even earning Daniel a chance to run a little closer with the pack at large as opposed to Moses Perdit's ranch of beginner wolves. Somehow it matured him, and it was rewarded by the pack.

The whole special treatment that Daniel received still did irritate Eli, but at least having the car made for a more tolerable compromise. Having his own set of wheels meant that he could start setting his own agenda. He still respected his grandfather's wishes and spent as little time in Forks as possible, but the car definitely made it easier to get Angie and get out. It was her mom, Amanda Pochoda, who really made it more difficult than it needed to be. Eli tried not to step on any toes, but the summer was going to be short, especially with Angie going back to soccer camp, and keeping Angie close while he still could seemed to be very necessary.

The clock ticked by very slowly. The day seemed to drag on. It didn't matter how much work he had in front of him, or how much Ray shouted out orders and complaints, or how much conversation Calvin tried to keep up with him, Eli's eye was always on that clock. The very second that the hand hit the hour, Eli was off like a shot. His feet barely touched the ground as he raced across the floor, jumping over scattered parts like they were marathon hurdles.

"Hey! Where's the fire?" Ray shouted from his reclined position behind the desk.

The guys all laughed, but Eli didn't care. He didn't even hear them. He had ten minutes to get home, get changed, and showered. It was a good thing that La Push streets weren't much for heavy traffic. He sped through as though his life depended on it. He pulled into the ranch driveway and sprinted out of the car. He began to undress the moment he got in the door; if the guys didn't want to see, they didn't have to look. He just let everything drop where it did. By the time he got to the bathroom, he was already naked. It didn't matter that it was already occupied. Randy was unprepared, even with Eli's rushed warning as he ran down the hallway, to have Eli barge in and physically lift him out of the bathroom. At least he could be thankful that he was done.

Eli's shower didn't last three minutes. It was just enough time for the water to get warm, and then he was out again, running naked to his room to grab unspoiled clothes. He ran and dressed, getting his last sock on as he hit the front door. He slipped his feet into his shoes and was back out. The seat of his car was still warm when he threw himself down into it. He sped back out the way he came and onto the highway that would lead him to his destination.

Going to Forks had gradually become more and more bothersome. It wasn't so bad when he was in the car, but every now and then he'd get a whiff of that icy air that stung him from the inside. There had been no particular growing scent around Angie's home or school, so that was a small relief, but in general the air was becoming fouler every day. Eli hated it. The good news was that so far it seemed as if the pact was being upheld and no people were getting hurt yet.

Time didn't return to a normal pace until he saw her emerge from the school doors. He didn't need to call to her; Angie saw him standing leaned up against the bike rack, as usual.

She wouldn't need the bike as frequently anymore now that summer was officially here. Eli was determined to make sure that she spent as much time in La Push as possible, even if it meant inviting Lauren Vargas along for the ride every now and then. He wouldn't bring Lauren to the ranch, both he and Angie figured that it might be a little much for her, but the warm weather meant that it was perfect for getting out and enjoying what La Push had to offer. The beaches, the trails, and even just the parks were the place to be during the summer months. Already the community was getting together for summer festivities. Fourth of July banners and decorations were being hung weeks before the actual event, and not too long after the celebration had passed did the reservation become more and more lively with the annual Quileute Days celebration.

It was a bitter-sweet time. On one hand the summer brought about this seemingly endless freedom in which Angie and Eli could just carry on like they had the year before. On the other hand, it was all a reminder of how temporary it all was. What had always been emblems of cultural pride were now vivid representations of the realities of Eli's life. What he once took for granted as just wolf carvings and fireside stories were now the driving force ensuring that he and Angie would eventually have to be apart. Even Angie recognised a new significance in the thematic displays around her; it was impossible not to with the rigidity Eli gave off at the sight of them.

As they sat on the park grass, watching the stage performers, Eli clutched onto Angie very tightly. When he became quiet and tense like that, Angie resorted to scratching him behind the ear. She had tried it as an experiment once before and it seemed to work. His grip became a little looser and he bent his head down towards her. Angie tried to hold back from laughing, but the blatant smile on her face quickly told Eli that he had fallen for it again. He wasn't exactly proud to enjoy house-pet treatment, but it did feel good when Angie did it. He nestled into her and told her to "stop it."

She laughed. "It doesn't look like you really want me to," she pointed out.

He moaned and sunk deeper until he was fully collapsed in her lap. He knew that he looked like an idiot, but he didn't care; he was running out of time in which to enjoy this. If he could have asked for time to come to a complete stop, he would, because taking Angie back to Forks ripped him apart from the inside out.

The long and windy Pochoda driveway seemed way to short. He didn't want either of them to get out of the car, but the smell in the air made it all too clear that Angie had to go. Sure there weren't any particularly strong scents around this little cabin in the woods, but Eli knew that it wouldn't take long for all of that to change. Her going away to soccer camp was going to be safer; at least, that's what everyone had to keep reminding him. Now that it was getting closer to, Eli wasn't so sure that it would be.

Angie opened the passenger side door and waited to see if Eli was going to get out too or if their goodbye was going to be right then and there. He took the cue and got out, walking with her as slowly as he could towards her front door. He had been trying for the longest time to coordinate a way to take Angie across the border himself, but it seemed like everything was against him. Her mom wouldn't allow it, his pack wouldn't allow it, and to top it all off, not having a passport would mean that he'd have to make Angie walk across the border on her own anyway. It wasn't fair, but it the only way.

He wrapped his strong arm tightly around her and pulled her in close to him, his face pressed right against the side of her head. He wasn't crying, but Angie felt like he must have wanted to. She tried to make light of the mood in an attempt to comfort him. She smiled, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and wriggled out of his tight embrace.

"I thought you were the one who wanted me to leave," she said with a cheeky grin.

Eli's faithful smirk didn't emerge. "I don't want to you leave, but I don't want to stop you from going either. I'll be here when you get back; that might not be. So I can wait."

This time she put her arms around him and pressed herself close to him.

"It's only a month, after all," he added. "And if you call me everyday, it might go by even faster."

"I'll see what I can do," she said.

The corner of his mouth was faintly shaping his smirk. He really was trying to not make this painful.

"And don't have too much fun steam rolling those kids," he said. "It can't be good for their health."

Angie tried to be playfully mad at him. She made a sour face and acted like she was just going to leave him there on the porch, "Uh-huh. Bye."

Eli laughed and chased after her in that short distance. He took her by the hand and pulled her towards him once more. He kissed her, or at least tried to as she continued to play mad. Avoiding lip contact with him could only last for so long. After sufficient begging, Angie reciprocated and threw herself at him. He picked her up as if she was nothing more than a small child and held her up against himself, kissing her all the while. They probably could have stayed that way for hours if Amanda Pochoda hadn't opened the door and caught them. She didn't say anything, but Eli knew that that was his cue to leave. He promptly placed Angie back down on her feet, wiped his mouth with his arm, smiled and said goodbye. Angie watched him go back to his car with a bit more of a bounce to his step than when he had left it. She waved at him from the porch as he turned the car around and drove back out.

Eli watched from his rear view mirror until the trees blocked up any view of the house. He felt bad for the lecture that Angie was sure to receive from her mom, but if that was the worst he had to fear, then he was as good as laughing. He just had to keep reminding himself that she would be in a safe place. And if he did his job properly, there would be nothing here to hurt her when she got back.


	21. Phase Two: Hurdles

Chapter Ten: Hurdles

Angie had more than just soccer camp to consider while she was back in Vancouver. Now that she would be entering her senior year, she had to think about where she was going to go from there. She always had an idea of where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do, but it seemed that she actually had to start acting towards it. Her mom went with her to a few of the Lower Mainland campuses and picked up brochures, went on tours, and talked to different advisors. Angie could have said that her mind was made up, but in reality there was still at least one doubt in her mind - Eli. If she stayed on this path, that would mean four years without him, maybe even more. It drove her crazy. Why did everything always come down to them being apart?

What Angie didn't know was that Eli was taking this time to look into his options, too. He practically dissected every university and college website he could get his hands on. But the deciding factor was dealing with the same issue that Angie was - cost. Angie wasn't officially a US citizen, so she was still considered Canadian domestic, which meant that saying on the north side of the border was the most cost effective decision. Eli, on the other hand, even if he did get a passport, would automatically be paying double if he tried to follow her. He had to stay on his side, at least this way he would be open to scholarships and have family to live with rent-free. Eli had rarely ever been one to worry about money, but as he researched, he was realizing just how much he needed, which was more than he had. It really got him thinking about how much he even wanted to go to school. Before he had just accepted going into Architecture as the most logical choice, but in terms of money, it was expensive, and in terms of time, it could take him six years to get enough experience and training before being able to actually use the degree as he wanted to. On top of all of this, he had the pack. He could distance himself from the guys easily enough, he knew that, but if the _cold ones_ didn't vacate soon, Eli wasn't sure how easily he'd be able to just leave everyone behind as if it wasn't his problem anymore. Eli wasn't that heartless. After all, it was his friends and family that were in the middle of this. And then there was Angie. With everything else Eli had to juggle, he had to figure out how to get her to fit into everything. Logic told him that she wouldn't, simple as that. But that wasn't good enough for him. He was already living a life that defied logic; he could push the limits if he wanted to.

Angie took this year's soccer camp more seriously than she ever had before. While she was supposed to be mentoring the younger kids, she took advantage of every coach and guest player she could get near. She knew that if she really wanted to open up doors for herself, she needed to be scouted. She trained as though her life depended upon it. Not only did this leave her exhausted at the end of the day, but also usually covered in scrapes, bruises, dirt and grass stains. One day she saw herself in the mirror and had to laugh. She definitely didn't look like she could be anyone's girlfriend, but then she reminded herself that her boyfriend was actually a dog, and somehow that reality made her feel like her life made some sense. She made sure to tell Eli of her enlightenment, knowing full well that he'd just think that she was crazy, but that was alright, she knew he'd love her anyway.

"You couldn't have found a safer sport to play?" Eli asked her over the phone.

"No such thing," she replied very pointedly. "If you can walk away without a scratch, it's not a real sport."

"Well, at least the only danger you're in is self-inflicted. It's just kinda frustrating for me," Eli admitted. "I mean, I'm supposed to be protector, right? Well what the heck am I supposed to do with _you_? Can't turn my back for minute."

Angie just laughed. She was glad that he didn't have to worry about her.

Eli laughed, too. He was glad that she thought he didn't have to worry about her.

He patrolled the woods with the other wolves, taking his nose right to the established La Push boundary. He didn't take a step over it, but he was ready to at any given moment. He had such vivid visions of the _cold ones_, what they were capable of, and what he was capable of doing to them. To Eli it was like having an infestation in the walls of your house; sure you couldn't see them, and they didn't impact your day-to-day life, yet, but they could bring down the whole building on your head if they wanted to. The thought got him so riled up that he often got called back to be kept a better eye on. It was even more frustrating to not be trusted, but no one could really argue with his thought process. Eli wasn't prone to being violent or having violent thoughts just for the sake of it, and any time these visions entered his head (and passed on to everyone else's), there was always a direct link to Angie and protecting her. As well intentioned as he was, everyone knew that Eli's aggression could be a liability. He didn't always agree with the pack, and his urges to set out in his own direction got worse the longer and the further he went from where Angie was. He ran the risk of being a hazard to himself if this impulse didn't get under control.

_"Take him back,"_ the alpha ordered Moses Perdit. Moses passed the message on to Randy and Holden who could easily round Eli up and pull him back away from the river he was contemplating crossing.

_"I'll take him"_ Calvin interrupted.

_ "No one needs to take me,"_ Eli replied, dawdling back toward the others. He hated it when people spoke as if he couldn't hear them. He _was_ still a part of the pack, after all.

_"Fine, I won't take you. Just come walk with me, alright?"_ Calvin said, trying to be diplomatic about it.

Reluctantly Eli followed him. It was like getting sent to the principal's office, and everyone knew about it, whether they could see it for themselves or not.

_"You want to talk about it?"_ Calvin pried.

_"No."_

Calvin sighed.

_"What? There's nothing to talk about. You know everything I'm thinking anyway."_

_"Eli, look, you can't take everything so personally. We move as group, as a whole, and you have to be on board with us."_

_"I am. I'm out here, aren't I?"_

_"No, you're not. Physically, maybe, but that's all."_

_"Look, thanks for the pep talk, but I'm fine. I know what I'm doing."_

_"Well that makes one of us then,"_ Calvin said. That got Eli's attention. His mind narrowed down on just Calvin, momentarily blocking out everything else.

_"We all have a lot on our plates. You're lucky, Eli, you've got a chance to get out of this if you really want to. Look at your family. Your dad left. He got out, he lived his life, but he also came back. If this isn't for you, that's fine. Your grandfather's taught you how to control yourself, and that's really all you need to know if you're going to get through this life. If this isn't what you want, you can put a stop to it. You can stop phasing. You can get us out of your head. You can stop listening. You can pull out and no one will think any less of you. You're going to go to school, I get that. You want to get out on your own and live your life, I get that. I would want to, too. Not all of us are that brave, and not all of us have those opportunities. I know I couldn't go back to school. I couldn't even leave the shop. But just remember that this is a part of who you are. It's in your blood. You can't just turn it off. You'll always not be normal. And who knows, you might even pass it on._

_ "Just ask yourself, Eli. What is it that you want?"_ Calvin concluded.

Eli didn't even have to think of an answer before it echoed in both of their heads.

_"Then stop patrolling. You'll only make yourself paranoid,"_ Calvin suggested.

_"It's not that I don't like being a wolf," _Eli said.

_"I know, but the body comes with all of the other obligations too. If you want to live your life, now's the time to do it. The _cold ones_ are at bay. You haven't imprinted. All of these obligations will catch up to you eventually, but if you want to live without them, start now."_

Eli thought it over for a moment. _"I can't do that,"_ he said. _"I know too much. I can't just turn my brain off. You're right, it will make me paranoid, but you know what, I already am. Yes, I want to go to school, and yes, I want to be with her, but the only reason I want these things so much, and the only reason that I can do these things, is because of what I am. I owe it to the pack to give back what I can, because it's definitely not much."_

Calvin bowed his head. _"You're a good kid, Eli, but you're not Superman. You can't do everything and you can't make everyone happy."_

_ "I know," _Eli said, _"that's why I'm picking my battles. Just because I want to end this thing with those monsters, doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to start it. And as far as imprinting goes, well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Just like the _cold ones_."_ Then Eli bowed his own head. _"You're a good guy, Cal. You may not be Superman, either, but your intentions are there."_

Calvin chuckled. _"You know what they say about good intentions, don't you?"_

_ "Yeah, well, we're just animals anyway, right?"_ Eli said jokingly.

_"Just stay close by the others from now on, okay?"_

_ "Sure thing," _Eli said. _"Hey, Cal?"_

_ "Yes?"_

_ "How long do you think it would take to run to Vancouver from here? Roughly"_

_ "Just stay with the others,"_ Calvin repeated.

_"I know. I was just wondering."_

_ "Just stay."_

Eli didn't run to Vancouver. He did look up a few maps of the area just to satisfy his curiosity, but that was it. As Angie called him in the evenings, Eli was pleased to know that everything was fine with her and that she would be back home soon. He wanted to see her the moment she got back, but when Angie called him to say that she was leaving, he did the math in his head and realized that it would be night before her and her mom reached Forks. Amanda Pochoda still wasn't sold on Eli, so trying to invite himself over wouldn't go over so well.

Angie fell asleep in the car not long after they had stopped for dinner. It was about ten o'clock when Amanda finally reached their driveway. She hadn't even turned off the ignition yet when she noticed something wasn't right with the way that their front door looked. Amanda screamed and cursed, waking her daughter up.

Angie jolted and looked around wildly, trying to see what all of the panic was about. Looking straight ahead, she saw the dark movement in the car's headlights slink down off of the porch steps and off into the darkness. While Amanda was still hyperventilating, Angie just smiled. It was nice to know that her boyfriend wanted to see her home safely. It was smart of him, too. As much as Amanda was freaked out about the huge wolf on the doorstep, she probably would have made a bigger deal out of Eli sitting up there as his recognisable self.

Angie tried to reassure her mom that the animal was sufficiently scared off, but Amanda insisted on honking the car horn at least four times before getting out, just to be sure. Angie watched as she sprinted to the door, keys ready in hand to get inside as quickly as possible, telling Angie just to "leave the stuff and get in." Angie laughed and grabbed her bags before going inside. She wasn't in a panic, but she didn't dawdle either. She took everything straight to her room, told her mom that she was going to bed, and then removed the screen off of her window again. She didn't know if he had already gone or not, so she tried to think of a way to call out without her mom hearing or her sounding too cheesy. Before she had a chance to say anything, she heard rustling among the nearby trees.

"I'm home," she said very quietly, hoping that he'd at least be able to hear her.

There was more rustling. Angie watched and waited, but it seemed to be taking an awfully long time for him to just come to her window.

"Eli?" she whispered out a little louder.

Still there was only rustling. It didn't seem right.

"Eli?" she called out again.

As soon as she said it, something had popped up right below her. She jumped but managed to muffle anything that might sound like a scream.

"Sorry," Eli said, climbing through the open window, "shorts weren't cooperating."

He stood in her room, shoeless with his shirt in his hand and a belt still loosely around his leg.

Angie ran at him, not caring if it knocked him over. She flung her arms around his neck and went straight in for a kiss. Eli caught her and picked her up.

"God I missed you," he said during those brief moments that Angie let him come up for air.

"And you made me wait just for you to put your shorts on?" she questioned him.

"Call me old fashioned, but I don't think I should dive through a girl's window completely naked. Where's the romance in that?" he said with that faithful smirk.

He placed her down on her bed and closed her window. It was still against the rules for him to stay in Forks, but it was also against Amanda's rules to be in Angie's bedroom, so Eli decided that if he was going to be rebellious, he might as well go all out. Angie didn't complain, at least not until he went to leave in the morning. He slipped out of bed as quietly as he could, but he didn't even reach his discarded shorts before Angie woke up.

"Hey," she said sleepily.

"Hey," he whispered back to her. He went over to her bedside and knelt down in front of her.

"You leaving?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think I should," he said. "Your mom might freak out if I show up at the breakfast table."

Angie smiled and laughed to herself just picturing it.

"Just let me know when you need to be rescued," he told her.

"When are you off work?" she asked.

"Six," he replied.

"So not today then?"

"I'll come get you today. I may not bring you back," he said with that smirk on his face. He leaned in and kissed her, not really wanting to go, but he knew that he had to. "And that reminds me," he said, "clear your schedule for Sunday."

"Why? What's Sunday?"

"Having a bit of a back-to-school barbeque."

"At the ranch?"

"At a camp site. Celebrating some final days of freedom. Mostly just the guys, but a few others, too," he said.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay." He leaned in and kissed her again.

"Alright, go before you're late for work," she said, laughing.

He knew that she was right. He gathered the rest of his things without bothering to put them on, and then left the way that he had come in. He knew that he wasn't supposed to, but it seemed like a safer option to leap out of the window and phased on the way down, just in case Amanda Pochoda decided to look out of the bathroom window. It would be easier to explain a wolf hanging around the house than a naked Eli. Angie had already seen him as a wolf, so the worst was essentially over now.

Angie was a little concerned as Eli went to dive out of the window headfirst, but before she had a chance to vocalize it, Eli's tail promptly followed the rest of him below her line of sight.

There was very little time in which Eli had to get home, properly dressed and over to the shop. In fact, when he did waltz into the garage, he was already late. Ray expectedly gave him a hard time about it, but that was hardly different from any other day, even when he was on time. Eli simply took his place in the line and got to work, the whole while with a huge grin on his face. Most of the others paid no attention to him, but Calvin shook his head knowingly any time he looked over in Eli's direction.

"Doesn't take much to put you back on your feet, now does it?" Calvin said slyly.

Eli just laughed, knowing that he apparently looked as happy as he felt.


	22. Phase Two: Wolves and Women

Chapter Eleven: Wolves and Women

The dresser in Angie's room was pulled apart, clothes were scattered everywhere. Angie was bent over waist deep into her closet, throwing everything she could get her hands on over her shoulder.

"Mom!" she hollered out from the closet. "Mom, have you seen my sweater?"

"Which one?" Amanda hollered back from the living room.

"My soccer hoodie!"

"You had it the other day," Amanda said.

"I know _that_!"

"Where did you last see it?"

"I dunno! I wore it, then…put it in the hamper!" Angie said in a moment of epiphany. She darted to her laundry hamper, but to her dismay it was empty except for a few stray socks that were found after the last laundry load. But if the hamper was empty that meant that the laundry was done. Angie stood for a moment just staring at it, wondering why the sweater wasn't with the others. Then it donned on her. She darted out of her room, nearly tripping over a pair of discarded jeans. She ran into the laundry room, praying that her clothes weren't soggy from being forgotten in the washing machine. She opened up the top door and peered inside. It was empty. She let out a sigh of relief. Without hesitation she threw open the dryer door and found the assortment of dry clothes. She tried to grab hold of everything in one scoop, but a few pieces fell out from the sides. Nonetheless, Angie rushed her newfound treasure to her room and sorted through it all as quickly as she could. She didn't bother folding anything, or even matching up socks. All she did was find the prized sweatshirt and proceed to stuff it into her backpack.

Angie felt ready now. She surveyed the disaster that was her bedroom, but then quickly brushed it off. She would deal with it later. She slung the backpack over her shoulder and shut the door on the mess behind her.

"Bye, Mom," she called, hurrying out the front door.

"What time will you be back?" Amanda asked in a typically motherly voice.

"I dunno. Won't be late. We all have school in the morning."

"That's why I ask."

"They'll see me home, don't worry. Bye, Mom."

Angie didn't stop once she got outside. She scampered all the way up the driveway until she hit the road. As expected, Eli was already pulled over on the shoulder, waiting.

Angie leapt in and practically threw herself across the seat so that she could greet Eli with a kiss. It caught him off guard, but once she was back in her seat, Eli just laughed it off.

"Excited much?" he said, pulling onto the main road.

"Last day of freedom, isn't it?" she said in a bubbly voice that was normally her mother's trademark, not hers.

"Perhaps. But you do realize that I'm taking you out to a day with the guys, right?" he said, testing her reaction.

"Yeah, I know, I'm the tag-along, the fifth wheel, the old ball and chain," she said in a mockingly dreary tone.

"_Ball and chain_, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess that's the price I pay for dating a dog," she said casually.

Eli's smirk exploded into a full on laugh as he shook his head, wondering what someone overhearing their conversation might think of their relationship.

The campsite was deep set away from the dirt road, but it was easy enough to find based on the three other cars that lined up in front of the narrow footpath. Eli had no choice but to park within an inch of the outlining ditch, else he would be in the middle of the road that was practically one-way even without cars on the shoulder. He got out first and then came around to help Angie out of her side. He had to jump right into the brush in the ditch to get the door open, but he didn't mind, his jeans took the bulk of the nettles so he was fine. Angie gave him her hand and he helped balance her around the back of the car, walking the thin strip of road as if it was a tightrope. Once she was on a significant level of the road, Eli ran back, grabbed Angie's backpack, and locked up the car.

Angie could see the nettles and pollen attached to his shins, looking like peach fuzz on his jeans.

"Sorry," she said, the guilt radiating off of her.

"Don't worry about it," Eli said with a laugh. "I run through worse things than that on a daily basis."

Out on the camp site, things were already set up. The camp fire was going, different coolers of food were scattered on and around the picnic table, various items of sporting equipment were laid out on the grass, and a line of towels were already hung in branches along the trail to the water. Eli and Angie emerged from the footpath, hand-in-hand. She felt very self-conscious as she realized that there were over a dozen people on the site, and only a handful of them she even recognized, let alone knew by name. But everyone seemed to know her. To her surprise, she wasn't the only girl among them, though it seemed like she was the youngest girl among them.

Eli did a quick round of introductions, pointing at people and calling out names, but Angie didn't retain a single one of them. She knew the guys from the ranch, as well as Joel and Spence, so she tried to stay as close by to them as possible, but so long as she had Eli in hand, she was willing to at least to try to be sociable with new people.

"So how was the soccer camp?" one of them asked her. He was part of the older crowd, not one of the teenagers.

Angie already felt intimidated. She couldn't even produce audible stammering.

Eli squeezed her hand gently, that faithful smirk on his face. He knew she was uncomfortable and found the torture to be funny. She could have hated him right then and there, but he didn't let her suffer for long.

"Cal works at the auto shop," Eli explained. "I tend to talk about you a bit."

Calvin laughed. "A _bit_? You might as well be Elaina."

"Who's Elaina?" Angie asked quietly, directing it towards Eli.

Eli laughed, feeling that there was an accusation hidden somewhere in her questioning.

"You didn't tell her about Elaina?" Calvin said. "What do you two talk about?"

Eli squeezed Angie's hand once more and pulled her in a little closer. "She's Dan's new girl. The guy went completely mental over her," he explained.

"Oh."

He tugged her a little more. "I'll introduce you," he said, leading her towards the picnic table where Dan was sitting with a beautiful dark woman lounged back against him.

"Heads up!" someone called from behind. Before either Eli or Angie had time to look, a soccer ball came flying through the air, headed straight for the couple at the table. It could have been disastrous but Daniel blocked Elaina with his arm. The ball changed course and now made a straight line forward. Eli instinctively made to pull Angie away, but to his surprise, she stood her ground and took the hit with pride. She took the ball to her stomach and then bounced it on her knees like a hacky sack.

"Nice save," Spence called from behind, having run up to see what damage his stray ball had done.

Angie caught the ball and tossed it back to him.

"Watch it!" Daniel threatened.

"Dude, no harm, no foul," Spence retorted. He then turned back to Angie. "You want in? We're getting our asses kicked."

Angie looked up at Eli hopefully, but Eli's smirk was gone.

"No," he said.

"Oh come on," Spence pleaded.

"Why not?" Angie asked.

"Because they hit hard," Eli said.

"So do I."

"They hit harder. You might be a tough girl, but they're tough freight trains."

"We'll be gentle," Spence promised.

Angie still looked up at Eli with big hopeful eyes. He looked around to see if he could compromise with any alternative. It was no use. There was no compromising soccer with her. He sighed. "Fine," he said sorely. "But if there is no much as a scratch on her," Eli threatened.

"I get it, I get it," Spence said, "I'll be killed. We done here?"

"Fine. Go," Eli said and reluctantly let go of Angie's hand. She didn't need to be told twice. She ran to the open field as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Meanwhile Eli propped himself up on the picnic table next to his brother.

"Well, that _was_ Angie," Eli said to Elaina as he looked out at the field. He sat on edge, just waiting to dart out if need be.

"Relax, little brother. She'll be fine," Daniel said, his arm loosely rested over his girlfriend's shoulders.

"That's easy for you to say," Eli replied.

Eli wasn't the only one feeling uneasy about Angie joining the game. The opposing team didn't know what to make of the situation and refused to play until things were settled.

"You're already losing, and now you want a girl on your team?" one of them said.

"Dude, she's a pro," Spence defended.

"And you'll be slaughtered."

Spence was getting agitated, which put everyone on alert. Eli was already in a starting position in which to run out phased if need be.

Joel stepped in from his position on the field. "Guys, it's simple. Angie, go on their team. Give us Manny."

"Are you kidding?"

"It'll even us out. Plus, Spence and I can rotate being her check if no one else wants to do it."

Angie smiled at Joel, glad to have a defender.

"Fine, if you want to babysit her."

Angie wasn't pleased with the reaction, but so long as they let her play, she knew that she could show them a thing or two about the game.

Right off the bat Angie could tell that all of the guys around her had a serious speed advantage. They could dart up and down the field faster than she could keep up going one direction. There was little need for anyone to keep her in check, she wasn't anywhere near the ball. After a few goals were scored without any help from her, Angie was just about ready to call it quits. It really was a sorry excuse for playing. She looked back over at the picnic table. That didn't look like much fun, either. So she re-evaluated her strategy. She thought back to playing basketball with Wyatt. He was a big guy, but he didn't have Angie's agility. All she needed was to be able to pull off a few of those hairpin turns and she could be right in on the offensive. She studied the players around her. She needed to pick a target, one who had poor ball handling skills. That didn't take long. The moment the ball went back into play Angie tore diagonally down the field, trying to stay in front of rather than catch up to the possessor of the ball. It was working. Due to everyone's awareness of Angie's fragility, the ball wasn't going very far with her blocking. He couldn't dart out into a run either because Angie was quick to check. In his hesitation, Angie successfully psyched him out by faking which direction she was moving in and then swept in right under him and stole the ball for her own. It was clear that any one of the players could catch up to her, so she zigzagged erratically, causing them to over-run and pass right by her. Her own team members could hardly believe how much control she had so suddenly. The next thing they knew, she was right in front of the net and scoring a new victory point. She was lucky that they were playing with open nets; Angie wasn't quite sure if she would be able to get past a goalie with wolf reflexes.

Even though they were on opposite teams, Spence ran up and high fived her.

"Told you on I wanted her on our team," he said to Joel in passing as the ball was coming back into play.

Now that Angie had her game plan, she was determined to maintain it. And the more she successfully used it, the more her teammates were willing to take advantage of her skill. They passed to her and blocked for her. They even let her come up with game plans in a huddle, to which the other team complained that it was unfair.

The losing streak was hitting Spence's team hard, and even with Manny on their team, Angie was proving to be a force to reckon with. The solution was obvious, they had to take her out, but deciding how to do that without hospitalising her was the looming question. They concluded that surrounding her was the only option. She couldn't dart away into turns if she had nowhere to dart to. The moment Angie came into possession of the ball, the offense was on. She tried to keep moving but they enclosed on her to the point that she was at a standstill. She didn't want to raise the white flag, but they were going to stop her one way or another. In one last moment of desperation, she bumped the ball up onto her foot, gave it a light bounce and then gave it a full force kick that went fifty degrees into the air and out of the enclosed circle of opposition. It was anyone's ball now, but Angie hoped that this was the best move for the team.

Before the ball landed, the circle had scattered to catch up to it. Angie went with them, running her hardest, hoping that one of her teammates would get to it first and pass it back. She wasn't so lucky. The ball had gone to the other team and now Spence was running with it. The only good thing about that was that now the ball would be coming back her way. She ran into position, ready to get in front and intercept the ball. He must have learned from her, because he was beginning to zigzag now too. It was difficult to keep up, but he was getting too near the net. Angie knew that it was a make or break moment. She backed away from him and let the defense block him. As they kept him occupied, Angie circled around from the other direction, ready to run full force right across from him. He was running hard, but Angie somehow managed to time it perfectly - or at least near perfectly. The moment she got right in front of him, her foot touched the ball, but she knew right then she had two options: she could fall to the wayside and give it up, or free the ball and suffer the consequences. She didn't even have half a second to make the decision, but she had made her mind up long before hand. She kicked the ball and braced herself for the freight train.

Spence didn't have time to stop. By the time he noticed Angie, she was already under him. They tumbled together; Spence being launched forward by the sudden halt of his own speed, and Angie was thrown from his impact.

Everyone stood frozen in place, barely even breathing, all waiting for Eli to come charging out, maybe even looking for blood. Spence scrambled to his feet and rushed to the fallen girl, the whole while pouring out apology after apology, yet still keeping an eye on Eli. Eli leapt from the picnic table bench and slid down to his knees on grass beside her. He didn't phase; he was more worried than he was angry at this point. He pushed himself between her and Spence, ignoring his heartfelt pleas.

Angie rolled over onto her back and winced as she did so.

"Ange. You okay? Are you hurt? Where does it hurt? Ange, speak to me," Eli rattled out desperately.

"I'm okay," she said weakly. She was sore and stiff, but she didn't feel like anything was broken.

Eli wasn't satisfied until he checked her over. He felt every joint, every rib, every spinal disk. He was no doctor, but he figured that it would easy enough to tell if she had crushed something.

Angie tried to tell him to stop fussing, that she was fine, but Eli was insistent. She tried to sit up, but Eli was determined not to move her until she passed his inspection, which she did.

"Seriously, I'm fine. I've been hit harder than that," she said, trying to make light of the situation. After all, it wasn't Spence's fault and the last thing she wanted was to be the instigator of a bloodbath between friends. Eli wasn't humoured by her comment, but at least the evil eye he had been darting at Spence seemed to stop. Eli helped her to her feet. She hobbled a little at first, just until she stretched her limbs back into their proper sockets.

She then turned back to the playing field. "Again?" she said.

"I don't think so," Eli said authoritatively.

Angie looked disappointed but then the rest of the soccer players started abandoning the field too. Apparently that was enough excitement for one game.

She felt bad for being the party killer, but the severe atmosphere lifted before too long. All it took was someone to take the initiative to break out the real food. All of the guys jumped at the hotdogs and hamburgers, even before they reached the grill. It was as if they hadn't eaten in days. Eli was more restrained, determined to keep a steady bubble of safety around his girlfriend while everyone manoeuvred around the picnic table to grab supplies.

Even Daniel dove right into a package of wieners and grabbed a couple, placing them firmly on the campfire sticks in his hand. He passed them over other people's heads to Elaina. Before he re-joined her, he took out one last wiener and began to eat it as is.

"Ew," was all that Elaina could say as she shook her head at him. She wasn't fully angry or disgusted, just amused by how animal like her new boyfriend was.

"What?" Dan said, his mouth full.

Elaina turned to Angie and said, "I don't understand how they don't make themselves sick."

Angie didn't reply. She just shrugged awkwardly, still not knowing how to socialize with this new person.

Daniel patted his stomach proudly, "Built like a tank, baby."

He leaned in for a kiss, but Elaina pushed away. "Not when I know what's been in your mouth," she said with a giggle.

Daniel stole a kiss anyway.

Elaina seemed like a nice person, but Angie found being stuck in the middle of someone else's relationship very weird. At least she was thankful that Eli refrained from the raw meat frenzy, though he laughed along with his brother about it.

Once the food had been unleashed, there was no putting a stop to it. Chip bags tore open and were passed around, Twinkies were tossed overhead and devoured, marshmallows were pierced on sticks and chocolate covered gram crackers sat patiently in the light of the camp fire. Angie was well beyond the point of being full, but eating here was more than just a way of satisfying hunger, it was part of social experience. There was a need to have just one more, to steal a bite from what another had, as well as to pass your own around. There was something comforting in this collectiveness – except one.

Angie hadn't been really trying to avoid talking with Elaina, but she also wasn't making much of an effort either. Elaina on the other hand was waiting for any chance to speak with the girl she had heard so much about. She bided her time until Eli was called away by some of his friends. Then she slipped down beside her as if they were already old friends.

"Oh, hi," Angie said nervously as Elaina sat their smiling, practically glowing at her.

"They are so cute together, aren't they?" Elaina said.

Angie looked around her, trying to figure out just what this girl was talking about.

"I mean, they're like one giant family. You know, most of the time it doesn't even cross my mind, but when they're together, you just know that there's something special about them. I could never have expected it. Don't you find that?" Elaina said sweetly.

Angie gave a weak smirk and half-heartedly nodded her head.

"You're lucky you're so close to Eli and the rest of them," Elaina continued. "It must really be something, knowing that they're there for you. I've never felt so warm and protected."

The more Elaina talked, the more uncomfortable Angie felt. It was a strange situation that she could never have imagined would be so awkward. From the first day that Eli told her about being a wolf, Angie had always been very conscious of not talking about it to anyone other than him. Now having this girl just openly start a conversation revolving around their shape-shifting boyfriends made it seem like some sacrilegious taboo. It was something special that no one just openly talked about. It was private.

"Can I ask you something personal?" Elaina said.

Angie sunk a little lower in her seat. Even though the conversation hadn't been directly about her, she already felt that it was going in a far too personal direction as is. Nonetheless, she couldn't be rude about it.

"Sure," she replied.

Elaina looked around, making sure that their conversation was for their ears alone. Then she blushed and smiled a little wider. "It's just that this whole thing is so unreal. I haven't really been able to talk to anyone else about it, well, not from a point of view like ours anyway."

Angie felt a pain in her stomach from being categorised so soon by this perfect stranger.

Elaina continued, "When Eli first told you, how did you take it?"

She stammered for a bit, and then said, "Fine, I guess. I mean, there could be worse things than your boyfriend being a wolf."

Elaina giggled and bowed her head. "Yeah. But what I'm curious about is the whole imprint thing. I mean, I was in absolute knots about it, but how did you react to it?"

Angie sat there frozen in confusion. It wasn't a term she had ever heard before. She wasn't even sure if she heard it correctly. Everyone else had, however.

Despite Elaina's attempt at being discrete, it was hard to not have things heard when canine quality ears were around. No one was particularly eavesdropping, but the moment the word _imprint_ was said, all ears perked up.

"I'm sorry. What?" Angie finally said.

"The imprint," Elaina repeated, but before she could continue on, Daniel was instantly at her side, placing his arm around her, and telling her to take a walk with him. His agitated behaviour caught both girls' attention. He and Elaina didn't walk far, just far enough to be out of hearing distance from where Angie was left. They spoke discreetly with one another. This was the first time Angie really wanted to know what Elaina was saying.

She didn't have an opportunity to attempt lip reading for very long. Eli came up, in the same fashion as his brother, and like Daniel, asked Angie to take a walk with him. She followed, but not eagerly.

They walked away from the group, taking a trail towards the waterfront.

"Am I in trouble?" Angie asked him, trying to figure out his anxiousness.

"No, no you're not in trouble," Eli said, squeezing her hand, but keeping his head bowed.

"Okay…so what is it?" she asked.

Eli was scrambling to put his thoughts in order, Angie could tell. So she figured she'd help give him some direction. "What's _imprint_?"

"Yeah, about that," he said distantly.

"Is it bad?"

Eli's head sprang back up. "No. No, it's not bad. It's just… it's just different. It's a wolf thing."

"A wolf thing that she knows?"

"Yeah."

"So is _she_ in trouble?" Angie asked.

"No. No, no one's in trouble."

"It's just I know that this isn't really talkable stuff."

"Yeah, that's part of it. She just assumed you knew already."

"Knew something I'm not supposed to?" Angie asked, trying to guess at the things that Eli wasn't allowed to say. "So no one emphasised the whole secrecy thing with her, then, I guess?"

"There aren't a lot of secrets from her," Eli said, almost painfully. "At least, not between her and Dan."

"So why does she get to know things and I don't? I mean, he just met her," Angie protested.

"Yeah, I know. But she's sort of special. She _is_ an imprint."

"Oh. So now we're back to the initial question. What is it?"

Eli sighed. He did not want to be having this conversation. "It's like a soul-mate, but for people like us. You can't control it. You can't even really understand it. It just is. Some people find it, others don't. But it is what it is when you do."

"I don't get it," Angie said. "So she's Dan's soul-mate? And that makes the whole wolf thing not off-limits with her?"

"Pretty much."

"So where does that leave me?" Angie asked.

"I don't know," he confessed.

That wasn't good enough. Angie stared him down for a better answer.

"You're my girlfriend, Ange. I love you. But this imprint thing, it's something bigger. They say that it just takes one look and then you know. If I hadn't been around Dan when he imprinted, I might not believe in it the way I do now. But I know him, and I know what it did to him. It scares me, Ange."

"Why should it scare you?"

"Because I want to know. I promised you I'd never hurt you. Well the whole wolf thing made that backfire once. I'm afraid it'll backfire again. I love you. I want it to be you. But I'm not sure that it is. The last thing I want is to have everything go perfectly between us, and then I just walk into the wrong place at the wrong time and have it happen. I don't want to lose this. I don't want to lose you. And yes, it's one of those things I'm not supposed to tell you. So maybe you're right. Maybe _I'm_ the one who will be in trouble later. But Elaina's now very much a part of the pack, like it or not. You deserve to know why."

"You mean why she out ranks me?"

"Not in my books, she doesn't," Eli said, trying really hard to lighten the subject matter a bit.

"But in the grand scheme of things she does. Wow," Angie said, taking all of this information deep into her own thoughts. She got quieter, a sure sign that Eli had to do something before she became distant too, as Angie often did when she had to contemplate serious things.

"Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have said anything," he said, trying to save himself.

She ignored the statement. She was on her own train of thought. "So you already know that we can't work out in the long run?"

"No. That's not what I said at all!"

"Not in so many words, maybe. But you know that there's someone else you're supposed to be with."

"Maybe. But maybe not. In fact, probably not."

"You're just saying that because you think I'm upset about it."

"No. I'm saying it because it's true. And I _know_ you're upset about it. But you shouldn't be. There's a chance it might be you," he said.

"You just said that it was first sight. Eli, you've seen me a few times now."

"I know. I know that. And everyone's a bit divided on that part."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that things between us aren't exactly simple. The imprint is kinda formulaic, at least for most people, but maybe it's different with us."

"So this is your wishful thinking?" she asked sceptically.

"Not at all. It's true. Because I don't know for certain, some people think that it means that this isn't it. But maybe it still is. I mean, when I first saw you, I wasn't a wolf yet, so I couldn't have imprinted even if wanted to." He could see that Angie wasn't convinced. "I was talking with Joel, and he has a theory."

"A theory?"

"Yeah. I mean, he's the kind of guy who would have a theory, don't you think?" Eli said half-jokingly. "Plus, he's one of the few who knows the whole story. He knows me. He knows you. And he's a pretty smart guy."

"Okay. So what's the theory?"

"The first time I saw you once I was a wolf, it wasn't exactly a good day."

"You mean Christmas?"

"No, that was just the start. I guess it's like wolf puberty. The scratched voice stage doesn't really count for much; you have to wait for the rest of you to catch up."

"I wouldn't know."

Eli laughed. "Yeah, I guess girls don't have to worry about that part."

Angie looked at him impatiently. He was getting off topic.

"Anyway," he continued, taking the hint, "the first time I saw you was in the woods, but I didn't really see you until after. I heard you, I could smell you, but protecting you was the first thing on my mind. We've been over this a hundred times, I know, but if I hadn't been so focused on him, I wouldn't have bitten you. But I did. I scared myself so bad that day. When you imprint, you give your life for that person, you live everyday just to make them happy, to be everything they need for the rest of their lives. If I imprinted that day, my fear of what I'm capable of doing to you would have counteracted any of that cutesy butterfly stuff that's supposed to happen. Joel thinks I overcompensated my protectiveness because of what I did. I mean, I wouldn't be the first guy to hurt his imprint, these things happen by accident all of the time, especially early on, but I've never heard of it all happening at the same time. So maybe I'm the first. Maybe this _is_ it. But what I'm allowed to say and to who has nothing to do with me. Rules are rules. Dan can prove his imprint. I can't. At least, I haven't a way of doing it yet. And while most people don't believe me, I know that being with you is the most real thing I've ever felt. If this isn't it, I don't want to know any better." He pulled her in close, nuzzling her face and then burring himself at the side of her neck.

Angie let him be affectionate but she couldn't really respond. She was still caught up in the thought of everything he had just said. He was determined, she'd give him that, but they couldn't really dismiss the possibility that Eli's future belonged somewhere else – with someone else.


	23. A Certain Scent

Chapter Twelve: A Certain Scent

They had one year left together before college would call them away. Angie knew that anything could happen now. The timing couldn't have been worse. With Eli back in school, he could be around a whole new set of people, or at least people he hadn't seen since before his transformation. With the arrival of new faces at her own school, Angie realized just how possible it was. Nothing haunted Angie more than the thought that Eli would find his imprint and then that would be the end of her world as she knew it.

Even Wyatt seemed to have moved on. They'd sit in class, and he wouldn't look over at her for more than it took to ask to borrow a pencil. It wasn't a huge loss. Angie was quite ready to put everything between her and Wyatt to rest for good. Nonetheless, it was a reminder of how quickly things could change. The make matters worse, the change seemed to stem from a very specific source – a new girl.

She was a grade below Angie, but she looked like a twenty year old super model. She was tall, slender, full bodied shining blonde hair, and a flawless ivory complexion. To say the least, everyone was enamoured of her the moment she walked into the room. In addition, to make her even more disgustingly perfect, she didn't demand or reward any of the attention so suddenly thrust upon her. She wasn't even one of those useless beauties either. She was quiet, keeping company with her brother rather than socializing much, which Angie could appreciate, but if a teacher called upon her, she always had an answer on hand, and usually the right one, too. It didn't matter if it was Math, History, Chemistry, or Spanish.

Angie had lunch with Lauren, as usual, and watched the high school social dynamics. The table was still fully intact, though they had since initiated new members since the seniors of last year had graduated. A few scouts had gone over to try to lour the new girl in, but she just scowled coldly at them until they left. She definitely wasn't the most approachable person at school, but that didn't stop some of the boys from trying, at least during the very brief moments when her brother wasn't around.

If there was one area that the new girl was in over her head in, it was gym class. It obviously didn't seem like running around was something that she was into. She seemed indifferent the whole time and hardly put any effort into it. It was especially bad during a team sport. She'd throw a ball like a stereotypical girl, pathetically. And with the table of athletes ruling the school, a person's contribution to gym class was an important signifier of their school status. Perhaps it made her less perfect, but either way she was still the talk of the school – a mystery that everyone was dying to solve.

It seemed like forever since Angie had seen Eli, but he had called her everyday, reassuring her that he was simply trying to juggle school work, auto shop work, and certain "family" obligations. Angie forgave him. After all, he had a lot to prepare for if he was going to get into the school of his choice for next year. Angie told him all about her day, and the ridiculousness amount of excitement that surrounded the new girl, though she tried not to vocalise her real concerns. He had enough on his plate without a whiny girlfriend to add to it. But Eli did have this uncanny ability to know when he was needed.

He rushed through a unit test in under an hour, still feeling confident about his answers, and ducked out of class for the rest of the day. Angie was still struggling to free her bike lock when she heard a car honk. She looked up, not expecting it to have anything to do with her, but was pleasantly surprised to Eli pull right up to the front of the school. Angie abandoned her bike right there and ran to him as he got out of the car. She practically leapt into his arms, which he didn't mind in the least. He had a huge grin on his face and a kiss ready for her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, too happy to really care why.

"What? A guy can't give his girl a ride home?" he said. "Go get the bike. We'll throw it in the back."

She skipped off cheerily. She worked on the bike lock again, wishing that it would just come free on its own. She looked back at Eli, seeing if he was laughing at her struggle or sighing with impatience. He wasn't doing either. He wasn't even looking in her direction. His eyes were fixed across the parking lot. He was watching someone, a very particular someone, getting into her brother's fancy sports car.

Angie tried to tell herself that it was just the car that Eli was fixated on, but she knew better. Finally the lock came free and she could pull her bike away. She wheeled it slowly, waiting for Eli to take his eyes off of the car that was now in the line-up of exiting vehicles. He didn't. Angie was standing right beside him and he didn't even flinch. But he must have realized that she was there because he took hold of the bike and placed it in the back of the car, all with hardly even looking at it.

When the sports car hit the main road, Eli's hypnotic gaze was broken. He looked over at Angie with his faithful smirk, but there was something lost in it. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, a sign that they were able to move on now. Angie took the hint and got into the passenger seat.

Eli acted like everything was normal, but Angie wasn't entirely sure. He drove right up to her house and came inside the front door with her, something that he hadn't done in a very long time. Angie threw her backpack in her room and expected Eli to follow, but he didn't. He roamed around the house, very slowly, sliding his arm against the walls as he walked. Angie stood in the hallway and watched him with a puzzled expression.

When Eli noticed that she noticed him, he said, "So you're mom's not home?"

Angie furrowed her brows. Obviously she wasn't, her car wasn't out front. This wasn't a question that Eli would normally ask. He could usually smell her mother from the highway. Angie couldn't figure out why he was acting so strangely.

"Yeah…" she replied.

"Well that's good," he said, bringing back his smirk. He moved in close to her, putt his arms around her and kissed her passionately. Normally Angie wouldn't mind, but it didn't seem natural. She pulled away.

"What?" he said.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

She studied his face for a few moments. She wished that she was able to read him half as well as he was always able to read her, but at this moment she didn't quite know what she was looking at.

He leaned in again to kiss her, holding the back of her head and slowly tracing his lips down her neck. It seemed to her that he was using romance as a distraction, but she couldn't figure out why. She didn't like it. She pulled away again.

"I should get started on some of my History stuff," she said. It wasn't a complete lie, she did have readings to do, but the immediate necessity of it was definitely exaggerated. She didn't have all that much of it and it wouldn't be needed until the up-coming Monday. She retreated into her bedroom, pulled open her backpack and got out the thick textbook. She then sat on the floor against the wall, trying to keep a fair distance from her bed – she just didn't want to put herself in that position right now. Eli watched her from the doorway for a few seconds and then announced that he was going to get his bag from the car. Angie heard the front door open and close, but she didn't hear the car door open. She got up and looked out the window. Sure enough Eli was walking along the house, dragging his arm around the siding. Angie couldn't understand it at all.

Once he circled the house once, he went to his car and brought his backpack back in. Angie watched him come back into the room.

"Okay, seriously, what is going on?" she demanded.

"What?"

"Why are you being so weird?"

"I just went to get my bag," he said defensively.

Angie didn't want to fight, and whatever it was that Eli was doing, she figured that she probably didn't want to know. She prayed that this was just some wolf thing that really meant nothing. Maybe it was like bears using trees to scratch themselves in the woods. She knew that it was a long stretch, but she had to believe it was something innocent before she drove herself crazy.

She went back to reading, hoping that it was just a build-up of stress that was planting these thoughts in her head, and that reading about the world wars would drown some of those thoughts out. Eli sat on the bed across from her, doing homework of his own. He looked far more like himself while he focused on that. It reminded Angie of the first time she met him and he talked her through her Geometry. She stared at him just trying to hold onto that memory. A few minutes went by and then she put her history book down. Eli was still lost in his own work. Angie crept up beside him and then leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Eli turned his head and kissed her hair.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"For what?" he said, setting his notebook aside.

"Being freaked out," she confessed.

Eli tensed up and sat fully straight. "Freaked out? About what? What is it?" he asked more urgently than Angie was prepared for.

"About us I guess," she said.

He put an arm under her and lifted her over to his lap. She folded into him, her neck curled over his shoulder.

"You've got nothing to worry about. I know I haven't been around as often as before, but I'm gonna try to change that. You shouldn't feel freaked out about anything. It's my job to make sure that everything's perfect," he said, rocking her like a small child, kissing her arm that was wrapped around him.

She sat up and looked at him straight in the eye. "You still love me?"

"Of course. Always," he said.

Angie watched his eyes. He still seemed honest. He still seemed to be in love with her. She let out a sigh. Maybe she was just imagining everything. She leaned in and kissed him. Eli knocked the rest of his stuff onto the floor and scooted himself backwards, all the while still holding and kissing her. He laid there with her for a long while, until he sensed Amanda Pochoda coming back into town from her commute.

He gave Angie a kiss goodbye and let himself out. Angie got up and watched from the doorway to see if he would make it out before her mother saw him. He didn't. She was pulling in as he was pulling out. They passed by each other.

When Amanda got out of the car, she looked like she wanted to say something, but she refrained from doing so.

At least Eli had managed to set Angie at ease by the end of the day, but it could only last for so long. There was still another day of school ahead, and another after that. All of it she would have to face without him.

It wouldn't have been so bad to live in this new state of high school invisibility, after all, Angie was not usually one to seek attention, but she was also not one to be comfortable with the cold shoulder. It wasn't simply that the new girl was drawing in attention, but she seemed to be emitting distain. The new girl was fairly standoffish to most people, but Angie couldn't so much as say "good morning" without a glare and a crinkled nose as response. This made it all the worse when Angie saw her transfer into her math class; apparently the new girl was both smart and drop-dead gorgeous, thereby needing the challenge of skipping a grade at the suggestion of the teachers. When she was told to take a seat next to Angie, the utter stiffness in her countenance made Angie want to hide under the desk. She had never felt so lowly in all of her life. Needless to say, as the days progressed into weeks, the two girls were nowhere near becoming close friends. To make matters worse, it only seemed to be happening to her. Even Lauren, who generally didn't get along well with anyone who could be called popular, was starting to think that Angie was reading far too much into things. Angie was also becoming more and more hesitant to mention anything to Eli. At just the mention of the new girl's name Eli was quick to be on the defensive, wanting to know if anything happened, if the girl had said anything to her or done anything to her. Yet the moment Angie said it was nothing but being actively ignored, Eli just dismissed the whole thing. It was as if he was far more interested in what the new girl was doing than how his own girlfriend was feeling.

It was one thing to be dismissed over the phone, but even in person Eli seemed to jump to attention at the drop of a name and then make up for it with a type of smothering affection that just didn't seem right. He wouldn't just hug her in a light lingering way, he had to bring her in tight against him, stretching his arms around her as if trying to cover the whole of her out of duty rather than genuine affection. The more this went on, the more Angie was certain that she knew the reason why. And on those rare occasions when he was there to pick her up from school, his fixation across the parking lot only confirmed her suspicions – she had lost him. The hardest thing to do now was not to cry in front of him. She had no doubt that he still loved her; why else would he still carry on the charade of being her boyfriend? He loved her too much to hurt her. So instead he was fighting off the very thing that was meant for him in this whole world. Once that reality sunk in, Angie no longer felt like the new girl was abusing her with cold stars and an upturned nose – she had every right to hate Angie for being the barrier between her and her soulmate.

Angie looked out from the bike rack. Eli was there again, standing outside of his car, surveying the parking lot. Angie wondered if he'd even notice if she just biked right on past him. But she couldn't. She wasn't angry with him. She had no reason to stand him up like that when he was trying so hard to play his role right. She walked her bike up to him. It took a minute before his eyes finally met hers.

"I think it's better if I just go my own way today," she said mildly.

Eli's smirk made a scarce appearance. "It'll downpour before you get halfway there," he said.

"I'll be okay," she said. She didn't mean to sound so pathetic, but even worse was that it was enough to draw his attention back to her. He was serious now and he was only focused on her.

"Ange, I'm already here," he said, gaging her reaction, but Angie couldn't fake contentment right now. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, but even she knew that Eli would see through that lie.

He put his hand on the bike; barely touching it and yet holding the handlebar with more strength than Angie's clenched fists could. She let go. There was no point trying to fight with him. She didn't want to anyway.

He took hold of the bike and put it in the back as Angie slid herself into the passenger seat. She stared out the window, not wanting to look Eli in the eye when he sat down beside her. He didn't say anything. He just pulled out and drove her home.

When they were out on the highway, Eli finally broke the silence. "So are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked.

"I told you, it's nothing," she lied.

"Ange, I think I know you well enough to know when nothing is nothing and when nothing is a whole lot of something."

"And I think I know you well enough to know when you're happy and when you're just going through the motions," she said.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's over, isn't it?"

Eli hit the brakes. He didn't exactly mean to, but he could have had a worse reaction. It was just lucky that there wasn't a car directly behind them. Nonetheless, it did scare Angie half to death.

"What are you doing?" she nearly screamed, trying to recover from the shock.

"What am I doing? What are _you_ doing? What do you mean _over_? What's over? What's going on?" he said all at once.

"Eli, you're in the middle of the road. Don't be crazy. At least pull over or something," she demanded.

He didn't. He swung his body right around so that he was facing her as best as he could despite the stick shift sitting between them. "I'm sorry if you think I'm overreacting, but you kinda come out of left field. What makes you think that anything is over? What did I do?"

"Eli, you don't have to get all defensive about it. I get it. It's okay. I'd be happier knowing that you were with someone you were meant for, even if that meant it wasn't me."

"Who's the crazy person now?" he said. "Ange, look at me. I don't know what it is that you think you get, but judging by the way things are going, I'm going to say that you don't. Are you seriously trying to breakup with me here?"

"No, I'm not trying to. I just think that's it's better to just get it done and over with than have you wait around pretending like this is what you really want. It sucks, yeah, but I'd hate myself more for holding you back," she said.

"Ange, I'm not pretending anything. Has nothing that we've been through proven that this _is_ what I want? Angie, I've defied the pack for you. I nearly killed a guy for you. I have gone out of my way to make sure that everything works out, to make sure that you're happy. Where did I go wrong? Honestly. Just tell me."

Angie didn't want to spell it out, she didn't even know if she knew how to begin. But if she didn't say something soon, there might be a traffic jam at some point. "It used to be that you'd look at me like I was the only girl in the room, but I'm not that girl anymore, not to you anyway."

"You're not the only girl in the room, Ange, you're the only girl in the world," he said sincerely.

"Until you see _her_."

Eli's puzzled expression couldn't have been more profound.

"You aren't subtle. I say her name and it's like you're off in a different world. You get one glimpse of her and you can't take your eyes off of her. Then you snap back and then it's like you have to force yourself to be near me. You don't hold me because you love me, but because you feel like you're supposed to. It just hurts to know that we're just living out some sort of shell of our relationship. Don't you find it exhausting? If you've imprinted, then you should just go with it. Why fight it?"

Angie watched him, waiting so see the moment when his defensive side would break down and he'd open up about what was really going on inside of him. He did let down his defensive side, but what Angie didn't expect was to see that smirk of his emerge. It seemed that the most impractical moment for it to make an appearance, and yet there Eli was, his dark eyes sparkling and a chuckle billowing up from within him that he was trying to supress.

"Is _that_ what this is all about?" Eli said as if relief had just washed right over him.

Angie couldn't understand why things were suddenly less serious.

"Oh, Ange," he said, swinging an arm behind her, "trust me, there is no chance of me imprinting on her. She is in no way my type."

The fact that he was nearly laughing made the matter all the more frustrating. Why couldn't he just own up to it? It was so obvious that he was completely obsessed by the new girl.

"Like hell she isn't! Every guy in that school swears that she's his type!"

Eli laughed and shook his head. He started up the car again and pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Angie still couldn't believe how casually he was dismissing the whole thing. She wasn't crazy. She saw him be mesmerised by the new girl. Yet the more that Angie argued her point, the more amused Eli seemed to be about the whole thing.

Finally, Angie was so frustrated about proving her point that she was near tears. Eli wrapped his arm around her again and brought her head to his shoulder.

"I'm sorry if I seem insensitive," he confessed, "but you just gotta understand how this is from my side."

"I've been trying to understand, but you won't ever tell me!" she sobbed.

He kissed her head and rubbed her arm. "Ange, I love you more than life itself, alright? But I thought that we agreed that there were a few wolf things that I just can't always talk openly about."

"Well when it affects my life I think I have the right to know!" she said with another frustrated sob.

He kissed her again. "And you're right. I just didn't think that it was affecting your life, not yet anyways. What you've interpreted as being distant couldn't be further from the truth. I'm a protector, Ange, you know that."

She sniffled and nodded her head though it was still against his shoulder.

"I've just never really explained to you what I, what the pack, protect against. That _girl_, the one that I can't take my eyes off of, she's not what you think she is, Ange. I haven't said anything because right now there's peace, and I don't want you to worry until there's something to worry about. But I'm not stupid. I know what she and others like her are capable of. She's not human, Ange. She might look it, but there's more human about me than there is in her. I can smell it a mile away. I can't keep my eye off of her because I don't trust her. You thought I was fixated on Wyatt – ha! He's a housefly compared to what she is. At least Wyatt was easy enough to work around. He's limited. He can't keep up with me, he can't beat me, and he had no idea what he was up against. That _girl_, she knows I've got my eye on her. She knows I'm watching. She also knows exactly what I am and what I'm capable of."

"Wait a minute," Angie said, springing up from his comforting shoulder. "She's dangerous? How? What is she?"

"It's a long story," Eli said casually. "My family's been keeping her kind at bay for generations. It's what we do. It's what our purpose is. They kill people. They're monsters, Ange, cold, unfeeling monsters. Some, and when I say some I mean a very, very select few, can be reasoned with. There is a peace treaty, and we respect it so long as they do. So long as they don't lay one hand on a human, we won't kill them. I'll admit that's been a hard rule to follow knowing that they're so close now."

"So why pretend to hug me?" Angie asked. "It's just weird and unnatural when you do."

"Sorry," Eli said. "It's not meant to be a pretend hug. I do love you, Ange. I want to you as close to me as possible. But I'm protective, and I know I can't just be attached to you all of the time, not really anyways. This is kind of the next best thing."

Angie just looked at him with confused furrowed brows.

"I told you, I can smell what she is, and she can smell what I am. I know you can't tell the difference, but people have a certain smell to them. I mean, each person _is_ unique, but there is a common trait among normal people. She smells like freezer burn to me. I guess I smell like wet dog or something to her, but whatever it is, it stands out. My scent is stronger than yours. If I'm around you a lot, some of it will rub off on you," he said.

"So you rub yourself on me so that I stink like you?"

"Pretty much," he said with a defeated smirk. "I know, it probably doesn't sound all that romantic, but I feel better knowing that she knows _you're_ mine. It's one thing if her kind attack a person, that's automatic war in itself, but you make it personal. If they don't want trouble, they'll stay as far away from you as possible."

"So that's why she doesn't like me," Angie said in awe of this epiphany. "I thought she was just snobby."

"Well, she might be," Eli said with a laugh.

"So she really just hates me because I smell bad?" Angie asked hopefully.

"I wouldn't say that you smell bad. You smell perfectly fine to me," he replied.

Angie scoffed at the remark. She wanted confirmation, not sappy compliments. Nonetheless, after rolling her eyes at him, Angie leaned over and threw her arms around his neck. She was so happy and so relieved that none of this had to do with an imprint.

Eli just laughed at it. "I tell you there's a homicidal monster at your school and you're relieved? What have I done to you, girl?" he said shaking his head.

She looked up at him and kissed him, simply happy that despite abnormal circumstances, things could actually go back to normal.

Angie couldn't have felt any more ready to face the school day on Monday morning. She sat up proudly in her seat, a smile on her face, even in front of the new girl. Even though Angie believed everything that Eli had warned her about, knowing that the new girl wasn't altogether human made her actually less intimidating. It was a strange concept to consider, but Angie felt far more compassion and sympathy now knowing that it was forces beyond her knowledge, let alone her control, that caused this unspoken feud between them. Now that she knew the cause, Angie was determined to address it properly.

She waited impatiently for the bell to ring and then sprinted to her locker. Angie knew that the new girl didn't linger around much after school, so she had a very small window in which to work in. She grabbed her backpack and then sprinted out to the parking lot, not caring how ridiculous she looked zigzagging around people and cars. Angie received quite a few stares, but the one that counted most was standing just a few feet from her brother's car.

"Wait up!" Angie called.

The new girl's expression said that she was both puzzled and apprehensive. Angie would take that as a good sign, she had to.

The new girl didn't say a word; she simply eyed Angie and waited for her to explain herself.

"Look, I know that you don't particularly like me, and that's okay, I get it; I'm not offended. But I also know what it was like being the new kid around here, and it isn't easy. So, even though we might not be able to be friends, I know that making it through this school is a lot easier with some. So here," Angie said, unzipping her bulging backpack and pulling out a basketball still in its cardboard cube of a casing. The new girl just eyed it with a little more revulsion than she had appeared to have before. "I know, it's not my game either," Angie continued, "but it at least opened some doors for me. You don't have to be good at it, you just have to immerse yourself a bit. Trust me, it helps."

Reluctantly, the gift was received. "Why are you doing this?"

"I told you, it's not easy to fit in around here. Being a bit different doesn't exactly help out here either. I know that I'm probably not supposed to, but even in the smallest way, I think it's important that people who are a little bit different give each other a hand every now and then."

Angie tried to gage the new girl's reaction, but there was only a very contemplative look on her face as she examined the ball intently.

"That was it," Angie concluded. "I'll see you in math tomorrow."

With that said, Angie skipped off to get her bike from the rack. She knew that she'd have to explain herself to Eli before the week was out, and though he would most likely lecture her about her recklessness, she knew that he'd end the lecture with a shaking of his head, a faithful smirk on his face, and some smug comment about his "crazy paleface girlfriend". Angie was alright with that. He'd love her anyways, and that's all that really mattered.


End file.
